SAINTS CRUISE TO 70-58 VICTORY OVER RIC

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's basketball team downed Rhode Island College, 70-58, Thursday evening in non-conference action at the Jean Yawkey Center. With the victory, EC who is ranked No. 23 in the most recent national poll, improves to 3-1 on the year while the loss drops RIC to 1-3 overall.

Emmanuel was in control most of the opening frame, holding a lead for 19 minutes of the action before the Anchorwomen closed the half strong to take a 27-26 lead into halftime.

EC jumped out to an 8-2 lead following a layup from junior forward Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) and took its largest lead of the half following a jumper from freshman guard Shaniya Rentie (Owings Mills, Md.) to go ahead 20-11 with 7:24 left to play.

The Saints lead was eight (26-18) with 2:15 to play before Rhode Island College closed the half on a 9-0 run highlighted by a deep three from senior guard Stephanie Prusko (Lincoln, R.I.) to take the one point lead into the break.

RIC sophomore forward Vandell Andrade (Providence, R.I) led all scorers at the break with nine points while EC junior center Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) topped the Saints with eight points.

Emmanuel opened the second half strong as junior forward Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.) capped a 7-0 run with a jumper from the free throw line to put EC back on top, 33-27.

Bramante gave the Saints their first double-digit lead of the night with a transition bucket to make it 41-31 with 14:50 left in the action.

With 8:25 to play, back to back layups from Andrade pulled Rhode Island College to within six, making it a 46-40 game. The Anchorwomen's run continued with a three from sophomore guard Michelle Lagrotteria (Niantic, Conn.) to make it a one possession game at 46-43.

Rhode Island continued to keep the pressure on but layups from Bujnowski and Negri along with a jumper from junior guard Britni Mikulanecz (Portland, Maine) helped EC build the lead back to 52-46 with less than six minutes to play.

Negri gave Emmanuel a 13 point lead with a putback layup at the 4:40 marker to give the Saints a 59-46 cushion. On their next offensive possession, Negri was able to convert an old-fashion three point play to push the lead to 62-47 with 4:17 left on the clock.

The Anchorwomen were unable to overcome the double-figure deficit as Emmanuel cruised to the 70-58 victory.

Bujnowski finished the night with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double while Negri chipped in with 18 points. Bramante also finished in double-figures with 10 points.

Andrade finished with a double-double of 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Prusko added 16 points.

The Saints return to action on Saturday when they head to Middlebury, Vt. for a non-conference match up.