SAINTS SET FOR GNAC SEMIFINAL MATCH-UP VS NORWICH
BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women’s basketball team is set to host Norwich University in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 PM on the Andy Yosinoff Court. The Saints bring a 19-7 overall record to the contest after posting a 14-2 mark in the GNAC to earn the top seed in the GNAC South Division. The Cadets stand at 16-10 overall and posted 9-7 mark in the GNAC to secure the No. 2 seed in the GNAC North.
BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's basketball team is set to host Norwich University in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 PM on the Andy Yosinoff Court. The Saints bring a 19-7 overall record to the contest after posting a 14-2 mark in the GNAC to earn the top seed in the GNAC South Division. The Cadets stand at 16-10 overall and posted 9-7 mark in the GNAC to secure the No. 2 seed in the GNAC North.
HISTORY
Emmanuel is no stranger to the GNAC tournament making its 22nd consecutive appearance in the field while the Cadets are making their 18th trip. The Saints own a 54-6 all-time GNAC tournament record compared to a 25-15 mark for Norwich. Head to head in the tournament, Emmanuel is 8-2 all-time against NU but in their last tourney meeting the Cadets pulled off a huge upset as the No. 8 seed by knocking off the No. 1 Saints in overtime, 84-78, in the 2014 GNAC Quarterfinals. EC has dominated the all-time match up with a 34-4 record vs. the Cadets since the first meeting in 1986 and are 14-1 over the last 15 meetings.
EMMANUEL SCOUTING REPORT
While Emmanuel's success depends on the play of its senior tri-captains Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.), Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.) and Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.), the Saints also rely heavily on the steady play of sophomore guard Olivia Dalphonse (Buxton, Maine) and junior guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.). Dalphone leads the GNAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.68) while ranking eighth in the NCAA among D-III ballers. She's handed out 79 helpers while committing only 31 turnovers this year and has started all but one game this season. Fox provides the Saints punch off the bench both offensively and defensively in the sixth-player roll, averaging just under 10 points a game while recording 49 steals on the year to lead the team and rank 8th in the GNAC.
NORWICH SCOUTING REPORT
Norwich is led by senior Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine), who recently became only the third student-athlete in program history to reach 1,000 rebounds and points scored in a career. She is averaging 17.9 points per game and 10.2 caroms per game – as of Feb. 20, LeBlanc ranked second in field goal percentage in the GNAC and 11th overall in all of NCAA Division III. The Cadets boast the nation's 13th-best rebound margin (10.7), leading the GNAC – Norwich has also out-rebounded its opponent in all but three games on the year, one of those being a loss against No. 19-ranked Bowdoin and the other was against Suffolk in the GNAC Quarterfinals. The Cadets also have two players ranked in the top-25 in minutes played as junior Shyann Josler (Thetford Center, Vt.) and senior Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) have played 983 and 972 minutes, respectively, this season. Outside of LeBlanc, the Cadets have two players on the roster averaging more than seven rebounds per game – junior Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) and senior Leanne Winans (Hudson, N.H.) have recorded 7.0 and 7.3 rebounds per game with the latter ranked second overall on her squad with 189 rebounds, a career-high mark.
TICKETS
Adult admission is $4.00 and children 12 and under is $2.00. Any student from either institution will receive free admission with their student-ID.
COVERAGE
Tuesday's GNAC Semifinal game will be streamed live on the web with LiveStat coverage as well. To tune into the live action, click on one of the links below:
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
OF NOTE
In their 10 previous GNAC tournament meetings against each other, only one match-up between Emmanuel and Norwich has come in the GNAC Semifinals. The meeting came in 2003 and the Saints posted a 75-52 win over the Cadets to earn the Championship berth. Of the other nine meetings, seven have come in the GNAC Finals and two meetings have taken place in the GNAC Quarterfinals.
GNAC TOURNEY SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 21
Game 1: #4S Albertus Magnus at #1N St. Joseph's (ME) – 64-61, SJM
Game 2: #3N Rivier at #2S Johnson & Wales – 66-52, JWU
Game 3: #3S Suffolk at #2N Norwich – 67-53, NU
Game 4: #4N Simmons at #1S Emmanuel – 91-64, EC
Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 23
Game 5: #2S Johnson & Wales vs. #1N St. Joseph's (ME) – 6:00 PM
Game 6: #2N Norwich vs. #1S Emmanuel – 7:00 PM
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 25
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner