SAINTS STORM INTO GNAC SEMIFINALS WITH 71-52 WIN OVER MONKS
Feb. 24, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - The top-seeded Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team advanced to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference semifinals after a 71-52 win over the 8th-seeded Monks of Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on Tuesday night. The GNAC quarterfinal game was played in Emmanuel's Jean Yawkey Center in front of a crowd of 250 people. With the win, the Saints improved to 19-7 overall, while the Monks wrapped up their season with a 13-13 mark.
The Monks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead behind back-to-back buckets from Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) and Meghan Daigle (Grantham, N.H.). Saint Joseph's was three for three from the field in the early going, before the Saints battled back to tie the game at 6-6 after a three-ball from Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) and three made free throws on two possessions by junior forward Abby Brenkach (Germantown, N.Y.).
The Saints took the lead, 8-6, at 16:35 on a layup by junior captain Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J) and Emmanuel held the advantage for the remainder of the first half. Emmanuel's Davis led all scorers in the opening stanza with her 9 first-half points.
Emmanuel's full-court pressure defense forced St. Joseph's into 18 first-half turnovers and the Saints converted 13 points off of the Monks' errors. Both teams shot 39% from the field in the first half, with the Saints hitting 11 of their 28 attempts and the Monks connecting on 9 of 23 shots. Despite being out-rebounded, 23-12, the Saints were able to take a 30-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Out of the break, the Saints began to extend their lead and stretched the margin to 15 points (45-30) after a lay-up by Karin Bird (Lee, Maine) with 14:07 to play. Emmanuel held a solid 15-point advantage for much of the second period. The Saints built a 19-point lead after LeBel knocked down back-to-back tri-fectas with five minutes to play and forced a full timeout by Saint Joseph's.
The Saints' largest lead of the game came with 3:49 on the clock, when sophomore point guard Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) drained a lay-up, putting the Saints up, 65-42. The Monks managed to score ten more points in the waning moments, sparked by a three-pointer and a basket in the paint by Geel.
Emmanuel finished the game with 10 turnovers versus 27 by the Monks. Saint Joseph's committed 22 fouls in the contest and sent the Saints to the line 27 times. Emmanuel shot 74.1% (20-27) from the line and 39.3% (24-61) from the field en route to the quarterfinal victory. The Saints scored 14 points off fast-break baskets.
Davis led all scorers with 20 points on 8 for 19 shooting. She also managed 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal in her 27 minutes of play. LeBel finished with 13 points, including hitting three of six from long range. Brenkach had a near double-double for the Saints with 9 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Freshman point guard Tierra Ellis (York, Pa.) came off the bench to chip in with 6 points and 6 steals, while Shevlin added 8 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals in the win.
For the Monks, Geel recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, while Daigle added 13 points and 6 rebounds. Junior guard Carolyn Freeman (Scarborough, Maine) hit for 7 points and gathered 9 rebounds.
Emmanuel will now advance to the GNAC semifinals. The Saints will host the 4th-seeded Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Friday night (2/27) in a 5:30pm tip. In other semifinal action, the 2nd-seeded Lions of Emerson College will take on the 3rd-seeded Cadets of Norwich University at 7:30pm. Both games will be played at Emmanuel College. The GNAC Championship will also be played in the Jean Yawkey Center at Emmanuel on Saturday (2/28) at 3pm.