IMAN DAVIS BECOMES EMMANUEL'S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
Feb. 3, 2010
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Emmanuel College defeated Wesleyan University, 88-82, in a non-conference women's basketball game played on Wednesday night. Emmanuel's Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J.) entered the game with 1,611 career points, just fifteen points shy of the Emmanuel program's career scoring record. In just twenty-one minutes of action, the senior guard poured in 21 points and in doing so became the program's new all-time leading scorer.
Davis, who now has 1,632 total points, surpassed the mark of 1,626 points set by All-American Lesa Dennis, who played for the Saints from 1984-1988. Davis, one of the best players to ever to suit up as a Saint, also holds triple-figure career totals in three other categories, including: rebounds (693), assists (378) and steals (372).
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), which was established in 1995, also has Davis in its record books. Last week, Davis became the GNAC Women's Basketball all-time leading scorer. The former mark of 1,570 points was set by Albertus Magnus College's Natalia Perlaza in 2005.
Davis' career total of 372 steals leads that of all past and present conference players. She also ranks 8th among the GNAC leaders in career assists, falling just behind 2008 Emmanuel graduate Jade Paez. Her total career rebounds places her among the top twenty conference leaders.
Davis is one of Emmanuel's all-time most decorated student-athletes. She was been named the conference's Player of the Year both as a sophomore and a junior. Along with her player of the year honors, Davis has also been named to ECAC and D3hoops.com All-New England region teams. Davis was chosen a pre-season All-American this year and has helped lead the Saints to their current NCAA ranking of 4th in New England.
In tonight's win over Wesleyan, Emmanuel junior Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) tied for game-high scoring honors with 24 points. LeBel made a steal in the closing seconds, leading to a layup with 1 second to go, which clinched the six-point victory for the Saints (15-4). Davis' 21 points came primarily in the second half, as she was forced to leave the contest after picking up two quick fouls in the first two minutes of the game. She came back with a vengeance in the second half, scoring 19 points and breaking the Emmanuel record.
Emmanuel built as much as a 17-point lead early in the second half after trailing 10-4 at the outset. The Saints came back to take a 14-12 lead and broke away from a 17-17 deadlock with nine minutes left in the first period. The visitors took a 41-28 lead into the break at halftime. The Saints got scoring from seven different players leading to the 24-11 run. Junior Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) led the way with six points at the break.
With Davis scoring five of Emmanuel's opening 10 points in the second period, the Saints opened up a 51-34 advantage with 17:16 remaining. Wesleyan quickly reduced the margin to single digits and got within six (14:24 left) at 53-47 behind a 13-2 burst that featured five points apiece by junior Erin Gold and sophomore Mel Ferdinand. Gold ended the contest with a career-high 24 points while Ferdinand added 11 in the effort.
The Saints did not allow the Cardinals to get closer than six until just 4:41 showed on the game clock, as Wesleyan used an 8-3 streak to turn a 70-61 deficit into a 73-69 differential. The score stood 75-71 before senior tri-captain Abby Brenkach (Germantown, N.Y.) hit an inside shot with 2:35 to go and Davis tacked on a second-straight bucket for Emmanuel 20 seconds later to boost the margin to 79-71.
A pair of junior McKinley Tennant free throws and a basket by sophomore Sam LaCroce got Wesleyan within four with 1:24 to go. Sophomore Eileen Gaffney narrowed it to 82-79 with her final bucket and only 26 seconds left. Two LeBel points from the charity stripe were countered by Gold's three-pointer with just :13 on the clock (84-82). Shevlin canned two more at the line (:10.7) to make it 86-82 and LeBel stepped in front of a Wesleyan pass and raced two-thirds of the court for a clinching layup.
Brenkach finished the game with 11 points and 4 rebounds, while Shevlin added 10 points and 4 assists. Davis and LeBel combined to lead the Saints with 15 rebounds and the pair shot 50% (15-30) from the floor for the game. Emmanuel out-rebounded Wesleyan, 41-35, on the night
Emmanuel leads the overall series against Wesleyan, 5-3. Wesleyan (7-12) hosts Connecticut College in its next game Sat., Feb. 6 in a NESCAC battle. Emmanuel visits GNAC rival Pine Manor College on Saturday as well.