WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CONTINUES TO ROLL WITH 62-50 WIN OVER MIDDLEBURY

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) posted a double-double with game-highs in points (24) and rebounds (10) to lead the Emmanuel College women's basketball team past Middlebury College, 62-50, Saturday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints, who are ranked No. 16 in this week's D3hoops.com national poll, improve to 6-0 on the year while the loss drops the Panthers to 2-4 overall.

Middlebury was in control of the action in the early goings, holding a lead until O'Dwyer tied the contest at 7-7 with an old-fashion three-point play with 17:00 minutes left in the opening half.  O'Dwyer would give EC its first lead of the day with a jumper at the 16:51 mark to make it 9-7 before junior guard Katie Pett (Saginaw, Mich.) converted a shot from the wing to make even the game at 9-9 with 15:36 on the clock.

On the next possession, one of two free-throws by senior guard Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) made it 10-9 but more importantly gave Emmanuel the lead for good as they would never trail for the remainder of the action.

With 8:46 left in the first half, junior guard Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass.) knocked down a trey to give the Saints their largest lead of the half at 22-10 but Middlebury would respond with a 13-2 run to make it a one-point game at 24-23 following a pair of free-throws by sophomore guard Nora Kelly (Dedham, Mass.) with just over three minutes remaining in the half.

Emmanuel would take a 30-25 lead into the halftime intermission and then open the second half with a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 36-25 following a layup by junior forward Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.).

The Saints would hold a double-digit lead for the majority of the half, however, the Panthers made one run to keep things close when they pulled to within six at 45-39 following a Pett layup with under12 minutes remaining in the game. EC answered with two quick hoops including an O'Dwyer jumper to put the lead back to double-figures (49-39) with just over 10 minutes left.

EC took its largest lead of the contest when sophomore center Vanessa Bramantee (Stoneham, Mass.) finished a fast-break layup with 5:42 left to make it 60-44. Emmanuel was able to hold on for the 62-50 win and improve to 6-0 to start a season for the first time since 2009.

The Panthers were led by senior guard Tracy Borsinger's (Chatham, N.J.) 13 points while Pett was strong defensively with 10 rebounds and a pair of steals.

Benvenuto had another strong all-around contest with seven points, a game-high seven assists to go along with two steals.

The Saints return to action on Tuesday, December 4 when they host No. 11 Amherst College at 8:00 PM while the Panthers are back in action the same night when they host Norwich University at 6:00 PM. The game for Emmanuel will be a rematch of last season's Elite Eight meeting in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.