SAINTS DOMINATE NORWICH IN GNAC OPENER

BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College women's basketball team (9-4, 1-0 GNAC) paired strong team shooting with a dominant defensive effort to cruise to a 77-41 win over Norwich University (7-5, 0-1 GNAC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Tuesday night in Boston.

Both teams started off slowly offensively, as the Cadets claimed an early 5-4 lead with 4:52 left in the opening quarter. However, with a Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) three-pointer just 20 seconds later, the Saints took a lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the evening.

Emmanuel finished the first quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 17-9 lead, and opened that lead up before halftime thanks to one of the most dominant periods in the history of the program.

The Saints scored 26 of the 30 points that were scored in the second quarter to mount an insurmountable 43-13 halftime advantage. The quarter featured a 16-0 run for EC that blew the game open from 27-11 to 43-11 in five minutes.

Higgins tallied all 12 of her points in the first half, as she only play 18 minutes due to the large lead.

After outscoring the Cadets 19-8 in the third quarter, the Saints took the foot off the gas in the fourth and gave up 20 points in the final frame.

The Saints forced 27 turnovers in the one-sided affair and scored 31 points off of those turnovers. Once again, the Emmanuel bench was also dominant as seven bench players scored and outdid the NU bench 42-17.

Just three days removed from an 89-30 victory over Cairn University, the Saints have now outscored their last two opponents by a combined 166-71.

Higgins and graduate student Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) were the only players in double digits as they both finished with 12 points. Higgins added six rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Negri pulled down seven rebounds in 16 minutes.

Freshman center Mary McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.) also had a strong night off the bench, scoring nine points to go along with five rebounds, two rejections, and an assist.

Next up for the Saints is a trip to Lasell College on Saturday, January 9 at 1:00 p.m. That contest will be the start of a four-game GNAC road trip for Andy Yosinoff's club.