STRONG DEFENSIVE EFFORT LIFTS WOMEN’S HOOPS PAST COLBY-SAWYER IN GNAC QUARTERFINAL, 61-39

BOSTON, Mass. - Junior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda posted her 17th double-double of the season to propel No.2 Emmanuel College past No. 7 Colby-Sawyer College, 61-39, Tuesday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals.

STRONG DEFENSIVE EFFORT LIFTS WOMEN’S HOOPS PAST COLBY-SAWYER IN GNAC QUARTERFINAL, 61-39
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Team Stats

February 19, 2019

THE BASICS 

Score:     Emmanuel College, 61; Colby Sawyer College, 39
Records: Emmanuel College Saints (21-5, 11-1 GNAC)
               Colby-Colby Sawyer Chargers (14-12, 6-6 GNAC)
Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2019

THE LEAD: Junior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda posted her 17th double-double of the season to propel No.2 Emmanuel College past No. 7 Colby-Sawyer College, 61-39, Tuesday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

  • The squads traded leads in the first quarter, exchanging baskets through the first five minutes of action with the Chargers owning a 9-7 lead at the midway marker following a triple by junior center Tianna Sugars (Oxford, Maine).
  • Emmanuel closed out the quarter on an 8-4 flurry to carry a 15-13 lead into the second stanza.
  • Back-to-back threes by EC freshman Molly deBettencourt (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) to open the second quarter helped the Saints take a 21-13 lead but the Chargers answered with consecutive hoops to pull within four at 21-17.
  • A steal and fast break layup by senior guard Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) in the final possession of the half lifted Emmanuel to a 32-23 lead at the intermission.
  • McLaughlin connected on a three to open the third quarter to give the Saints their first double-digit lead of the evening at 35-23.
  • The Saints continued to build the lead in the third as steal and layup by junior guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) moved the score to 51-32 with under two minutes to play in the frame before freshman Arina Ovchinnikova (Moscow, Russia) drainer a jumper in transition at the third quarter buzzer to give EC a 53-32 advantage heading into the final quarter.
  • The lead proved too much for the Chargers to overcome as Emmanuel held on for the 61-39 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

  • Ramirez-Tejeda finished with a game-high 19 points and a team-high 12 rebounds
  • deBettencourt added 11 points going 3-for-5 from downtown in the win.
  • Sugars played well in defeat for the Chargers with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds while sophomore guard Mackenzie Buzzell (Lovell, Maine) added 10 points.
  • Emmanuel forced Colby-Sawyer in 28 turnovers on the night which they converted in 23 points.
  • The 39 points allowed by the Saints was a season-low for opponents during the 2018-19 slate.

OF NOTE

  • Emmanuel improved to 5-0 all-time against the Chargers with a pair of victories versus Colby-Sawyer in the last three days.
  • EC advances to the GNAC Semifinals for the fifth straight season and the 22nd time in the last 23 years. The only season the Saints failed to advance to the semifinal round was in 2014 when Emmanuel held the No. 1 seed in the tournament and was stunned in quarterfinals by No. 8 Norwich, 84-78 in overtime.
  • The Saints own a 57-8 all-time GNAC tournament record with 15 GNAC championship wins, but the program has not come out on top since 2013.

UP NEXT

  • The Saints will host the winner of the No. 6 Regis College vs. No. 3 Albertus Magnus College match up on Thursday evening for a chance to play in the 2019 GNAC Championship game.