SAINTS CLOSE SEMESTER WITH FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN, DOWN SALEM STATE 91-77

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's basketball team cruised to a 91-77 non-conference victory over Salem State University Tuesday evening at the Andy Yosinoff Court. The Saints close out the first semester on a five-game winning streak and improve to 6-3 on the year while the loss drops the Vikings to 7-4 overall. The 91 points for the Saints ties a season-high and over the last five games, EC has averaged 81.8 points per game compared to just 51.5 ppg over their first four contests.

Salem State jumped out to an early 8-4 lead following a transition layup by sophomore forward Tyra Scott (Methuen, Mass.) but the Saints answered with a 5-0 run to pull ahead 9-8 on a jumper from senior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.). After trading hoops, the hosts took the lead for good in the quarter on a steal and layup by sophomore guard Talia Roth (Castaic, Calif.) to make it 15-14. Emmanuel ended the first quarter with another 5-0 run capped by a three at the buzzer from just beyond half court by freshman Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) to give EC the 25-19 cushion at the end of the period.

With 40 seconds remaining in the first half, Emmanuel bumped the lead to double digits at 44-33 after junior Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.) stole the ball and went the length of the court for a fast break layup. Salem State got the points back with a pair of free throws by senior guard Kaitlyn Byran (Lowell, Mass.) to make it a 44-35 game at the halftime intermission.

Salem State junior guard Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) led all players at the break with 14 points while Byran was also in double-figures with 12.

Senior guard Olivia Marks paced the Saints at the half with a team-best nine points on 3-of-4 from behind the arc. EC's bench also held a commanding 17-0 scoring advantage over the Vikings reserves heading into the third quarter.

Emmanuel opened the game up by coming out in the third quarter with a 9-0 run fueled by four points from senior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.) to extend the lead to 53-35. The Saints maintained the steady double-figure lead throughout the stanza and entered the final frame leading 70-53.

To open the fourth quarter, the Vikings cut the lead to single digits at 72-61 following back to back layups from Byran and Waggett. Minutes later, a transition steal and layup by Waggett made it 76-68 but it was the closest Salem State came as EC responded with a 6-0 spurt to regain the double-digit lead at 82-68. Emmanuel cruised to a 91-77 final for their fifth win in a row.

Chalk and Ezell powered the Saints offensive attack with 16 points each while sophomore Masion McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) chipped in with 12 points.

From Salem State, Byran finished with a game-high 26 points while Waggett ended the night with 22 points. Sophomore Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.) also finished in double-figures with 11 points.

The Saints are now idle until they head to the Sunshine state for winter break to take on Saint Thomas on January 2, 2017. Salem State returns to action on December 29 for a 3:00 PM contest when they play host to D'Youville.