2014-15 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON IN REVIEW

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team posted another very successful season, as the Saints rolled through Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with an unblemished conference record of 11-0.  The Saints finished the year with an overall mark of 19-11, after advancing to the finals of the GNAC Tournament and to the semifinals of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament.

With Emmanuel's 11-straight GNAC wins during the 2014-15 campaign, the Saints stretched their incredible regular-season conference win-streak to 63 games.  The streak spans six seasons and dates back to Emmanuel's last regular season conference loss, which was a 70-67 setback to Emerson College on February 9, 2010.

With their 11-0 conference mark, the Saints secured the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Tournament.  Emmanuel upended No. 8 Albertus Magnus College, 77-52, in the conference quarterfinals and edged No. 4 Suffolk University, 66-54, in semifinal action.  The Saints then played host to third-seeded Johnson & Wales University and Emmanuel was upset, 74-66, in the GNAC Championship.

As a perennial contender in post-season play and with their 18 wins following the GNAC Tournament, the Saints earned the program's 9th ECAC Tournament appearance.  Emmanuel captured the No. 2 seed and kicked off the ECACs with a 63-53 win over No. 7 Curry College on March 4th.  The ECAC run ended for the Saints on March 7th, when they were upset by No. 6 Brandeis University in a high-scoring 91-78 battle.  The heartbreaker for EC marked the Saints' second-consecutive ECAC Tournament loss to Brandeis, as Emmanuel also fell to the Judges, 64-55 in 2014.

Head Coach Andy Yosinoff was named the 2014-15 GNAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, following his 38th season at the helm of the Saints' program.  This was Yosinoff's fourth GNAC Coach of the Year honor, as he was also honored by his peers back in 1996, 2001 and 2004.  Both, Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) and Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) joined Yosinoff with post-season GNAC honors, as the duo represented the Saints as GNAC All-Conference selections.

After leading the Saints with an average of 14.0 points and 2.5 steals per game, Higgins was voted to the All-GNAC 1st Team.  This was her second time earning All-Conference honors, as the junior guard was also an All-Conference player as a sophomore.  During the 2014-15 season, Higgins was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll twice (11/24/14, 1/19/15), to the GNAC All-Tournament Team and was selected the GNAC Player of the Week on February 23rd.  She scored in double-figures for the Saints 23 times during the year, including netting a collegiate career-high of 31 points in Emmanuel's ECAC semifinal loss at Brandeis.

Bujnowski earned GNAC 3rd Team honors, boasting a team-leading 7.1 boards and 1.1 blocks per game, to go along with her 11.5 points.  The senior center was named to the EC Invitational All-Tournament Team and was voted to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll four times during her final collegiate season (11/17/14, 12/8/14, 2/2/15, 2/16/15).  Bujnowski led the Saints on the glass throughout the year and recorded a team-high seven double-doubles with points and rebounds during the 2014-15 season. 

Senior captain Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.) notched a break-our senior campaign, averaging 10.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per night.  Bramante scored in double-figures for the Saints 17 times during the year, including recording a career-high 24 points Emmanuel's win at Rivier on 1/19/15.  Bramante was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll twice (1/5/15, 2/9/15) and to the GNAC All-Tournament Team this season.

Junior point guard Devin Rauh (Collegeville, Pa.) led the Saints' backcourt, dishing out 4.4 assists per night and boasted a 2.3 assist to turnover ratio.  Rauh earned a spot on the EC Invitational All-Tournament Team in November and represented the Saints on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Coach Yosinoff got solid minutes from sophomores Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.), Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.) and Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.).  Chalk saw time in the power forward slot and notched 7.0 points and 3.8 boards off the bench for the Saints.  Marks earned a spot as a starter in the Saints' backcourt mid-way through the season with starts in 14 of her final 15 games.  Ezell led Emmanuel in field goal shooting, knocking down 55.8% of her shots from the floor.

Guards Karlee Alves (Ellington, Conn.) and Sasha Puglisi (Corss River, N.Y.) combined for over ten points per game as rookies in the backcourt for the Saints. Alves started in 15 of her 29 games played and dished out 3.1 assists per contest, while Puglisi notched 4.2 points over her 16 minutes played each game.

Coach Yosinoff will lose Bujnowski and Bramante to graduation this May, but will return a talented group of ten veterans for the 2015-16 campaign.  Among the returners will be team captain Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.), who was forced to sit out her senior season due to a devastating knee injury occurring at a pre-season scrimmage. Negri plans to enroll in graduate school full-time at Emmanuel and play her fourth season of eligibility with the Saints.