LATE CHARGE LEADS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PAST WESTERN NEW ENGLAND, 51-45

Boston, Mass. – Trailing by four points (45-41) with 2:52 to play, the Emmanuel College women's basketball team closed the game on a 10-0 run to notch a 51-45 victory over Western New England University in the opening round of the 2012 Emmanuel College Saints Invitational. With the win, the Saints who are ranked No. 19 in the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, improve to 1-0 while the loss drops the Golden Bears to 0-1.

A three point bucket by junior guard Nicole Daly (Massapequa, N.Y.) with 18:11 to play in the second half gave the Golden Bears their first-lead of the stanza at 25-23 but a steal and fast break layup by EC senior guard Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) tied the game at 25-all on the next possession.

The squads would continue to trade hoops with the score tied at 27, 29 and 31 before senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) gave EC the lead with a hoop in the paint to make it 33-31 with less than 13 minutes remaining. A three by WNE junior guard Ali Pessolano (Hampden, Mass.) put the Golden Bears back on top, 34-33, with less than 11 minutes to go.

A put-back by junior forward Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.) pulled Emmanuel back ahead, 35-34, with less than nine to play and the Saints would add to the lead when freshman guard Shaniya Rentie (Owings Mills, Md.) connected on a pair of three throws with 8:26 left to make it 37-34.

An old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore center Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) with 7:56 remaining made it a 40-36 game in favor of the hosts but a three by junior guard Katie Eckert (Lee, Mass.) pulled WNE to within one at 40-39 with a little more than six minutes left in regulation.

Senior guard Emily Savino (Ellington, Conn.) gave the Golden Bears a 42-40 lead with a three of her own and two possessions later connected on another trey to give WNE a 45-41 cushion. The hoop was also the 1,000^th point of the senior's career.

O'Dwyer would pull Emmanuel to within a bucket with a reverse layup to make it 45-43 before sophomore guard Britni Mikulanecz (Portland, Maine) drained a shot from way down town to give EC the 46-45 lead. With 1:00 minute remaining, Rentie converted one of two free throws to give EC a 47-45 lead. A fast break layup by O'Dwyer with 25 tics remaining made it 49-45 and the Saints defensive unit would make a huge stop to seal the victory. Rentie added a pair of free throws with three seconds left to account for the 51-45 final.

In the first half, the Saints stormed out of the gates on a 9-2 run over the first six minutes of action capped by a free throw by freshman guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) but the Golden Bears responded with an immediate 7-0 spurt of their own to make it 9-8 following a jumper by freshman forward Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) with 12:05 remaining.

Western New England would tie the game at 12-12 as Savino connected on a jumper before Emmanuel regained the lead when Bujnowski put home a bucket in the paint to make it 14-12 with just under nine minutes left in the half.

The Golden Bears would take their first lead of the game following a pair of free throws by Savino at the 7:05 mark to make it 16-15 but the Saints would go on a quick 4-0 spurt to regain a 19-16 advantage. Two more Savino points from the charity stripe pulled WNE back on top, 20-19 but Bujnowski connected on a jumper with 48 tics left in the half to give EC the 21-20 halftime advantage.

O'Dwyer finished the game with a team-high 13 points while Bujnowski registered a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Savino ended the day with a game-high 14 points while Vujs pitched in with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Saints will face off against RPI in tomorrow afternoon's championship contest at 3:00 PM while the Golden Bears will take on Lehman in the consolation contest scheduled for 1:00 PM.