BIG SECOND HALF LIFTS WOMEN’S HOOPS PAST SIMMONS IN GNAC QUARTERFINALS

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to defeat Simmons College, 91-64, Tuesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals action at the Andy Yosinoff Court. The No. 1 (S) seeded Saints improve to 19-7 on the year while the No. 4 (N) seeded Sharks end the 2016-17 campaign with an 8-16 record.

Simmons opened the game with a 4-0 spurt and extended the lead to 9-3 following a baseline triple by sophomore guard Francesca Corsinetti (Johnston, R.I.) with 4:40 to play in the first quarter. Emmanuel picked up the defensive pressure and sophomore shooting guard Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) gave Emmanuel its first lead of the night with a three on the wing to make it 11-9 with 2:44 left in the quarter. The triple came amidst a 17-0 run by the Saints to give the hosts a 20-9 lead before Simmons junior forward Presley Silva (Wilmington, Mass.) capped the quarters scoring with two free throws to make it a 20-11 score heading into the second quarter.

The squads traded hoops to start the second quarter before Simmons senior forward Liz Brasa (East Hartford, Conn.) cut the lead to 22-16 with an old fashion three point play three minutes into the action. The Sharks stayed poised defensively and continued to chip away at the lead making it a one possession game at 29-27 following a tough jumper by senior guard Jamie Zoldy (Watertown, Conn.) with 2:30 to play in the stanza. At the halftime buzzer, Silva converted a jumper as time expired to make it 33-32 Emmanuel entering the break.

Brasa led all scorers at the break with 12 points while McLaughlin paced the Saints with 11 points.

EC opened the third quarter with a 6-0 flurry to extend the lead to 39-32 and a three by senior guard Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.) bumped the lead to 44-36 midway through the period. The scoring picked to close out the quarter as the Saints outscored the Sharks 17-10 over the final four minutes to take a 61-46 lead into the final frame.

Emmanuel opened up a 21 point lead early in the fourth following a layup from senior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.) to make it 70-49. The margin proved to be too much for the Sharks to overcome as the Saints held on to advance with a 91-64 victory.

The Saints bench outscored the Simmons reserves by a whopping 60-21 margin while the hosts also owned a commanding 46-24 points-in-the-paint advantage in the win.

EC junior guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.) led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor. McLaughlin ended her night with 16 points while Chalk added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Brasa paced Simmons with 18 points while Corsinetti finished with 17 points, hitting 5-of-7 from long range. Silva added 12 points and eight rebounds while Zoldy rounded out the Sharks in double-figures with 10 points.

Emmanuel advances to the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday and will play host to No. 2 (N) seed Norwich University who defeated No. 3 (S) Suffolk University earlier this evening, 67-53.