Women’s Basketball Falls to Brooklyn, 70-57, in NCAA First Round Game

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Brooklyn 70 – Emmanuel 57

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (25-2)
Brooklyn College Bulldogs (22-3)

Location: Northampton, Mass. – Ainsworth Gym at Smith College

Date: Friday, March 4, 2022

THE LEAD – The Emmanuel Saints women's basketball program fell to the Brooklyn Bulldogs, 70-57, on Friday evening in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament, hosted by Smith College. Bulldogs grad forward Chanel Jemmott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with game-highs of 30 points and 22 rebounds to send her hometown Brooklyn College into the Second Round.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a tight first half battle, it was a significant scoring run by the Bulldogs that could be argued as the most pivotal moment of the game.
• Emmanuel led by four, 28-24, with 3:52 remaining in the second quarter, but by the end of BC's run, the Saints wouldn't see the lead again. Brooklyn finished the half on a 13-2 surge, all scored by their trio of First-Team All-Conference players, Jemmott, and juniors Gianna Gotti (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and Ericka James (Brooklyn, N.Y.), as the Bulldogs led 37-30 at the half.
• EC wouldn't go quietly, as the team responded, as they often have this season, in the third quarter. Brooklyn's lead grew to nine early in the third, but this time a Saints run of 11-3 got Emmanuel back within one possession, a deficit that carried into the fourth as EC trailed 50-47 with 10 minutes to play.
• A James three-point make to start the fourth quarter put the Bulldogs up six, but back-to-back two-point baskets by Saints sophomore Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) pulled EC back to within a pair, 53-51.
• As had been the case for much of this game, any Saints run was met with a Bulldogs response. After Matela made it a two-point game with 8:45 remaining, Brooklyn answered for the final time, scoring 11 straight points over a span of 3:16, pulling away to a 63-51 lead.
• The Saints closed to within six after back-to-back three's by sophomore Allison Wild (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Matela, to 63-57, but EC was held scoreless in the final 2:41 as free throws down the stretch by Brooklyn took them to a 70-57 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Jemmott, who was voted the City University of New York Athletic Conference Player of the Year, played 35 minutes in collecting her season-highs of 30 points and 22 rebounds.
• James went the full 40 minutes, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5-for-12 from beyond the arc.
• Gotti, the NCAA leader in steals per game, lived up to that billing, finishing with 15 points, eight steals, six rebounds, and five assists.
• The Jemmott-James-Gotti trio combined for 62 of the Bulldogs 70 points and 21 of the 25 made field goals.
• Matela finishes the season with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting in 26 minutes, off the bench.
• Wild also sets a new career mark, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
• Graduate guard Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.) added 10 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

UP NEXT

• The Saints season comes to an end with a final record of 25-2. This season's Saints become just the fourth team in program history to finish a season with two losses, joining the 1986-87, 1987-88, and 2006-07 teams that accomplished that feat.
• Brooklyn heads on to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament and will face the winner of Framingham State and No. 17* Smith College on Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Ainsworth Gym.

* Smith College's No. 17 ranking courtesy of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll (Feb. 28).