Women's Basketball Comeback Effort Falls Short in 81-72 Loss to No. 15 Springfield

THE BASICS 

Score: 
No. 15 Springfield 81 – Emmanuel 72

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (5-4)
Springfield College Pride (8-1)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Jean Yawkey Center / Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Sunday, December 11, 2022

THE LEAD – Springfield senior Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) posted a career-high 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting, leading the Pride to an 81-72 victory over the Emmanuel Saints on Sunday afternoon in non-conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Pride started quickly in the first quarter, taking their first double-digit lead, with 4:11 remaining in the first, thanks to the help of a 14-4 start for Springfield. The Saints responded by quarters-end, going on a 12-2 streak, tying the game at 16-16. A buzzer-beating three-pointer from nearly 30 feet out by Pride sophomore Emma Glaser (Norfolk, Mass.) had SC up 19-16 after a quarter.
• Springfield again found themselves ahead by double figures in the second quarter, leading by 10 with 2:18 left in the half. Despite the Saints shooting 8-for-27 in the first half, it was a perfect 12-for-12 at the line that kept EC in the game, as Emmanuel trailed 38-29 at the half.
• The Pride looked as though they grabbed control of the game to start the third, after opening the second half on a 16-5 spurt over 4:09, opening their largest lead of the afternoon at 54-34. Emmanuel used a pair of timeouts over 44 seconds during that run, a momentum-slowing move that would pay off and keep Emmanuel in the game.
• The Saints defense after those timeouts stiffened over the last 5:51 and thanks to a 17-4 stretch by EC to close out the quarter, Emmanuel found themselves back in the game, trailing 58-51 with 10 minutes remaining.
• Despite all the momentum Emmanuel had gathered, the Saints never managed to get within one possession of the Pride, only getting as close as four, after a three-point play by Saints first-year Tiffany Fischer (South River, N.J.) opened the fourth and left EC down 58-54.
• A Springfield 9-2 run over the span of 2:55 would provide the cushion needed by the Pride to hold on to the win. Emmanuel made a late run, getting within five points with 3:27 remaining, but shots and free throws down the stretch by Hourihan came in clutch, as the senior forward scored seven of Springfield's last 10 points, helping SC hold off Emmanuel with an 81-72 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Hourihan stuffed the stat sheet in her 38 minutes, adding six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks to the career-high 29 points.
• Senior Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) added 15 points, seven assists, and six rebounds for the Pride.
• First-year Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) and junior Kayla Madden (Ashland, Mass.) both finished in double figures, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.
• Saints sophomore Yannie Chan (Hong Kong, China) led the Saints with 18 points while adding six rebounds and six assists in the defeat.
• Junior Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) had 17 points, all in the second half, shooting 6-for-17 from the floor, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc.
• Both the Pride and Saints shined from the foul line on Sunday with SC shooting 81.8 percent (18-of-22) while EC shot 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the stripe.

UP NEXT

• The Saints are off for nearly three weeks and return on Thursday, Dec. 29 for an 11:00 a.m. game with SUNY Potsdam as part of the Florida Sunshine Shootout in Daytona Beach.
• The Pride has one last game before the Holiday Break, hosting Albertus Magnus on Dec. 14 for a 7:00 p.m. tip.