No. 1 EMMANUEL DEFEATS No. 8 JWU IN GNAC QUARTERFINALS
Feb. 22, 2011
BOSTON, Mass. - The No. 1 seeded Emmanuel Women's Basketball Team upended 8th-seeded Johnson & Wales University, 75-29, on Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal game played in the Jean Yawkey Center. The game began with a 22-0 run by the Saints that spanned the opening seven minutes and Emmanuel cruised to the 46-point win. Emmanuel improved to 19-7 on the season and will advance to the GNAC semifinals. JWU ended the 2010-11 season at 7-19 overall.
Emmanuel scored just ten seconds into the contest, when Victoria Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) dropped a bucket off a nice feed from Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) and the Saints never looked back. A 6-0 Emmanuel lead after 47 seconds forced a quick Johnson and Wales timeout. The Saints would lead end to end in the contest.
Emmanuel's senior point guard Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) picked up her 4th assist of the night at the 16-minute mark, becoming the GNAC's 7th all-time leader in assists. Shevlin hit a wide open LeBel on the right wing, who drained a three-ball, giving Emmanuel a 15-0 lead.
After an Emmanuel hoop down low and another LeBel triple, the Saints led, 20-0. Emmanuel would go up by as many as 22 points, before the Wildcats found the scoreboard at the 13-minute mark on a lay-up by freshman forward Samantha Hendrick (Castleton-On-Hudson, N.Y.).
A 10-1 Saints run then forced a full timeout by JWU with Emmanuel leading, 32-3, with 7:21 left in the half. The Wildcats drained their second field goal of the night when Jenna Juron (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) hit a mid-range jumper coming out of the timeout. The Saints held on to their solid double-figure lead throughout the half and carried a 39-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Emmanuel's pressure defense forced the Wildcats into 24 turnovers and 23.8% shooting in the first half. LeBel led all scorers with 11 points, including 3 three-pointers, at the break. Sophomore forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) added 7 points and Shevlin dished out 7 assists in the opening frame for the hosts.
The second half opened with much of the same, as junior guard Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) sunk a deep trey and Emmanuel led 49-23 with 17 minutes left. Ockimey's three was part of a 9-2 Saints' run, as Emmanuel led by thirty (55-25) at the 15-minute mark.
Sophomore forward Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) buried one from behind the arc and Ockimey stuck another from the same spot, giving the Saints a 61-26 margin with 10 minutes to go. Sophomore guard Chenae Earle (South, Orange, N.J.) then scored two-straight hoops for the Saints to put the hosts up forty, 66-26.
Emmanuel would go up as many as 48 before it was over and the Saints finished the game with the 75-29 win. Four players scored in double-figures for hosts, led by Ockimey's 12 points. LeBel and O'Dwyer finished with 11 and Johnson added 10 points. Shevlin dished out a game-high 9 assists, while Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.) hauled in a game-high 8 rebounds off the bench for the Saints.
JWU was plagued by 38 turnovers in the game. Juron led the Wildcats with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Ayla Walter (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) added 7 points and 5 rebounds in a 40-minute effort for the visitors.
Emmanuel will host the 5th-seeded Blue Jays of Saint Joseph, Conn. on Thursday night in one of two GNAC semifinal contests. The game will begin at 7pm in the Jean Yawkey Center. Saint Joseph upset 4th-seeded Norwich University, 86-70, in Northfield, Vermont earlier this evening. Thursday's other semifinal game will feature No. 3 Saint Joseph's College (ME) playing at No. 2 Suffolk at 7pm.