BENCH POWERS WOMEN’S HOOPS PAST NORWICH, 72-47

BOSTON, Mass. – Led by a 45-point showing from its bench, the Emmanuel College women's basketball team powered past Norwich University 72-47 Thursday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at the Andy Yosinoff Court. The win lifts the Saints to 15-6 overall and 11-1 in GNAC play while the loss drops the Cadets to 12-8 overall and 7-5 in the GNAC.

The Saints reserves outscored Norwich's second unit by a 45-6 margin led by double-digit outings from sophomores Mary McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.) and Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.). Senior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) also posted double-figures with 10 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.

NU senior Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) played well for Norwich scoring a game-high 18 points while also collecting a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) added 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Cadets raced out to an early 6-5 lead following a Harrison three but the Saints took the lead for good on the next possession as sophomore Christine Miller (Manchester, Maine) matched the trey with a triple of her own to give EC an 8-6 cushion with 7:13 remaining in the first. Miller's three sparked a 9-0 run to give the hosts a 14-6 cushion midway through the opening quarter. After trading hoops, the Saints closed out the quarter with back to back threes from junior Ryan Maynard (Bowie, Md.) and McLaughlin to take a 21-10 lead into the second stanza.

In the second quarter, the Emmanuel reserves continued to build the lead as freshman Abigail Willauer (Colchester, Conn.) connected on a jumper with 3:32 left in the second to give the Saints their largest lead of the half at 41-20. EC forced Norwich into 12 first half turnovers, turning them into 11 points and led 43-25 at the break. The Saints bench owned a commanding 23-0 advantage in bench points at the half.

Both teams were cold to open the third quarter, as each team only score two points through the first four minutes of action to account for a 44-27 score. The action picked up over the final six minutes in the frame but NU was unable to make a dent in the Saints lead as the hosts led 57-40 heading into the final quarter.

A quick 5-0 run to open the final frame bumped the Saints lead to 62-40 and eliminated any hopes of a Cadet comeback as Emmanuel cruised to the 72-47 win. EC has now won nine consecutive GNAC matches.

Both squads return to action on Saturday afternoon as the Saints host Mount Ida College at 3:00 PM while Norwich heads to Anna Maria College for a 1:00 PM tip.