SAINTS SHUT DOWN BRANDEIS WOMEN’S HOOPS IN 63-42 WIN

BOSTON, Mass. – Graduate student Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) netted a game-high 15 points while junior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) added a season-high 11 points to lead the Emmanuel College women's basketball team past Brandeis University, 63-42, Tuesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium. The win was the third in a row for the Saints who improve to 4-2 on the year while the loss drops the Judges to 3-2 overall.

Brandeis came out of the gates strong, building a five-point in the lead in the first quarter after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Noel Hodges (Southampton, N.Y.) put the visitors on top 11-6 with under two minutes to play in the stanza. EC freshman guard Maddie McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) answered with a three-ball to make it a one possession game at 11-9 before junior forward Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y.) converted a layup during the final minute of the quarter to give the Judges a 13-9 lead heading into the second frame.

After trading hoops to start the action in the second quarter to make it 15-11, Emmanuel went on a 6-0 spurt fueled by another McLaughlin trey to give the Saints a 17-15 lead. Brandeis senior guard Heather Cain (Gloucester, Mass.) evened the score at 17-17 with a layup in traffic before Negri gave EC the lead for good with a transition layup with 5:05 to play in the second quarter, putting Emmanuel on top 19-17. The Saints closed out the first half on a 12-2 run to take a 29-19 lead into the halftime intermission.

The Saints opened things up in the third quarter, reeling off a 9-0 run over the first two minutes of play to extend the lead to 37-19. Senior forward Ceara McNamara (Amherst, N.H.) ended a five minute scoreless drought for the Judges to end the run and make it 37-21 with 6:34 to play in the third.  It would remain a 16 point contest heading into the final quarter with the Saints leading 49-33 at the end of three.

A 7-0 run to open the final quarter was all the Saints needed to sit back and cruise to their third consecutive non-conference win of the year at home, holding on for the 63-42 victory.

Jackson finished with a team-high 12 points for Brandeis while junior forward Sydney Sodine (Dix Hills, N.Y.) was one point away from a double-double, finishing with a game-high 11 rebounds and nine points.

Chalk finished the game shooting 4-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe while also collecting three steals. Brandeis was able to hold EC's leading scorer Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) to a season-low seven points but the senior made up for it with a season-high eight assists in the victory.

Emmanuel is now idol until December 1 at 7:00 PM when they head to Amherst College to take on the No. 2 ranked team in the country according to the most recent D3Hoops.com national coaches' poll. The Judges are back the same night when they host Simmons College at 7:30 PM.