SAINTS DOWN VIKINGS, 77-61
Jan. 15, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - Sophomore shooting guard Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) dropped 22 points to lead the Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team to a 77-61 victory over the visiting Vikings of Salem State College on Thursday night. With tonight's win, the Saints improve to 7-6 on the year, while Salem State falls to 5-8 overall.
The contest saw just one lead change in the early moments of play, before the Saints surged out to a 22-point halftime lead (41-19). Emmanuel was paced by LeBel's stellar shooting in the first half. The sophomore hit 5 of 7 shots, including 2 of 3 from three-point range, in the opening half. The Saints' pressure defense forced the Vikings to shoot just 23.5% from the floor and forced 12 Salem turnovers in the first twenty minutes of play.
With second half featured more of the same, with the Saints extending their lead to as many as 26 points on a bucket by freshman guard Karin Bird (Lee, Mass.) with 12:04 to go. As a team, the Saints shot 50% (28-56) from the field and 53.3% (8-15) from behind the arc for the game. The Vikings shot 31.9% for the game and hit just 2 of 14 attempts from three-point range.
LeBel's 22 points led all scorers. Junior guard Iman Davis added 14 points and dished out a game-high 8 assists, while freshman guard Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit three tri-fectas, chipping in with 9 points in the win.
The Vikings had just one player scoring in double figures. Junior guard Kerry Stokes (Newbury, Mass.) led the squad with 10 points, while freshman forward Lindsey Burke (Harvard, Mass.) hauled in a game-high 9 boards in the effort.
Emmanuel will play again on Saturday (1/17), when the Saints travel across the street to take on the Sharks of Simmons College in a 1pm start. Salem State will also return to action on Saturday, when they host Westfield State College at 1pm.