Saints Advance to Championship Game Following 84-60 Win Over Regis
BOSTON - The Emmanuel Saints women’s basketball program saved one of their best performances of the season for Saturday, shooting 53.1 percent from the floor, as EC advances to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship following an 84-60 victory over the Regis College Pride in Saturday’s GNAC Semifinal Game.
THE BASICS
Score:
Emmanuel 84 – Regis 60
Records:
Emmanuel College Saints (24-1, 16-0 GNAC)
Regis College Pride (13-9, 11-3 GNAC)
Location: Boston, Mass. – JYC Gymnasium/Andy Yosinoff Court
Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022
THE LEAD – The Emmanuel Saints women's basketball program saved one of their best performances of the season for Saturday, shooting 53.1 percent from the floor, as EC advances to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship following an 84-60 victory over the Regis College Pride in Saturday's GNAC Semifinal Game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Saints led wire-to-wire in Saturday's GNAC Semifinal, starting off the game with the first six points. Regis quickly responded to get within one possession, but Emmanuel closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run, helping them to lead 24-14 through the first.
- The Saints lead continued to expand in the second quarter as another scoring run, this time of 18-3 over a span of 6:24, launched Emmanuel to a comfortable 42-17 edge. The Pride claimed the last six points of the quarter but trailed 46-27 at halftime.
- Another strong third quarter by the Saints would put the game out of reach, all but securing a spot in the Championship for Emmanuel. The Saints shot 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) in the third quarter, scoring 28 points, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, as Emmanuel led 74-42 after three quarters.
- Pride junior Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.), the team's leading scorer broke out for 11 points in the final quarter on 4-for-5 shooting, but the Saints stamped their ticket to the Finals with an 84-60 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Saints sophomore Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) scored a team-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
- Grad student Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.) and first-year Yannie Chan (Hong Kong, China) had identical stat lines of 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
- Senior Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) and junior Caitlin Barker (Plainville, Conn.) each chipped in eight points.
- Senior Riley Lahiff (North Attleboro, Mass.) matched a career-high with six steals while adding four points.
- The Saints 53.1 percent shooting on 34-of-64 from the floor is their second-best output of the season in terms of percentage, just shy of their season-best 53.5 percent on Feb. 1 vs. Anna Maria.
- Gonzalez led all scorers in the game, finishing with 22 points in a full 40 minutes. Gonzalez shot 7-for-15, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
- Sophomore Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) added 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
- Senior Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds.
UP NEXT
- The top-seeded Saints are off to the Championship Game on Sunday afternoon where they will host No. 3 St. Joesph's College of Maine at 3:00 p.m. on Andy Yosinoff Court.