O’DWYER DROPS CAREER-HIGH TO LEAD SAINTS OVER ECSU

Boston, Mass. – Senior forward Fiona O’Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) poured in a career-high 30 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to lead Emmanuel College to a 65-47 win over Eastern Connecticut State University in a non-conference women’s basketball game played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Tuesday night. With the win, Emmanuel remains unbeaten at 3-0, while Eastern falls to 1-2 on the year.

O’DWYER DROPS CAREER-HIGH TO LEAD SAINTS OVER ECSU
Video Live stats Box Score

Team Stats

November 20, 2012

Boston, Mass. – Senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) poured in a career-high 30 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to lead Emmanuel College to a 65-47 win over Eastern Connecticut State University in a non-conference women's basketball game played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Tuesday night. With the win, Emmanuel remains unbeaten at 3-0, while Eastern falls to 1-2 on the year.

The 19th-ranked Saints got off to a hot start with consecutive buckets in the pain by Emmanuel forwards Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) and O'Dwyer.  Bujnowski would score twice more before the fifteen-minute mark and Emmanuel took an early, 8-3 lead.

Eastern's defense forced 7 Emmanuel turnovers in the opening six minutes of play, leading to a 9-0 Warrior run, capped with a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kristina Forsman (Newington, Conn.) and ECSU surged out to a 12-8 lead.

The Saints then went on an 8-0 run of their own, which included a three-ball by Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass.) and a baseline jumper on the break by Britni Mikulanecz (Portland, Me.) and Emmanuel led, 16-12, with ten minutes to play in the half.

 

Both teams struggled offensively over the next five minutes, continuing to turn the ball over under pressure and combining for 20 turnovers in the opening fifteen minutes of action.  Senior guard Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) found Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.) on a backdoor cut and Daley's hoop gave the Saints a ten-point lead at 27-17 with three minutes remaining in the half.

Another triple by Tiro and a lay-up by O'Dwyer sandwiched a free throw from Eastern's Erin Brooks (Billerica, Mass.) down the stretch and Emmanuel carried a 34-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

O'Dwyer led all scorers at the break with 13 points off of 6 for 9 shooting.  Tiro chipped in with 8 first-half points for the Saints.  Sophomore forward Shannon McCourt (New Fairfield, Conn.) led Eastern with 8 points and 5 boards at halftime.

The two squads traded hoops out of the break, before Forsman converted an old-fashioned three-point play to bring the spread to 42-30 with 16:46 on the clock. Both teams were scoreless for over two minutes, before Mikulanecz knocked down a mid-range jumper and Emmanuel held a 44-30 advantage with 14 minutes to go.The Saints found themselves in foul trouble and Eastern took advantage of being in the bonus with twelve and a half to play. The Warriors would drain five consecutive free throws to cut their deficit to nine at 44-35.  Taylor McBride (Willimantic, Conn.) and Benvenuto traded lay-ups at either end and the Saints led, 50-37, at the ten-minute mark.

A turn-around in the paint by Bujnowski extended the Emmanuel lead to 52-37 and forced a Warrior timeout with 8:12 on the clock.  Out of the timeout, McCourt scored on a drive and freshman guard Megan Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) sunk a jumper from the wing to chip away at the Saints' lead.  Senior guard Chenae Earle (South Orange, N.J.) then found O'Dwyer on the break at the five-minute mark to put the Saints up, 60-44, and forced another Eastern timeout.  The Warriors would score just three more points over the final five minutes and Emmanuel pulled out the 65-47 win.

O'Dwyer's career-high 30 points led all scorers and came off of 59% (13-22) shooting.  She was perfect from the line (3-3) and behind the arc (1-1), while also hauling in a game-high 16 boards and collecting 7 steals.  ujnowski recorded her third double-double in as many games, scoring 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Tiro finished with 8 points and Mikulanecz chipped in with 6 for the Saints.

McCourt led Eastern with 17 points and 14 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.  Forsman added 9 points and McBride dished out 4 assists in the effort for the Warriors.

Emmanuel's defense forced 22 ESCU turnovers and the Saints scored 10 points off their fast-break.  Seventeen of the Saints' points came off-second chance buckets, compared to 7 for the visitors.

Both teams are now off for the holiday break. The Saints will resume action next Tuesday, November 27th, at Brandeis University at 7:30 PM.  Eastern will host Manhattanville College on Monday, November 26th, at 6:00 PM.