Emmanuel defeats Salve Regina, 67-50

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College upended Salve Regina University, 67-50, in non-conference women's basketball action played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Monday night. EC held a slim five-point lead at the break, but dominated second-half action, out-scoring the visitors 39-27.  The win boosts the Saints to 9-5 on the season, while Salve Regina falls to 5-8 overall.

Prior to this game, these two programs had not met since back in 2006, when the Saints defeated the Seahawks in the opening round of Emmanuel's Tip-Off Tournament.  The Saints got off to a slow start in Monday night's contest, having just played a postponed conference game on Sunday afternoon.

Both teams struggled offensively in the early-going, combining for just four field goals in the opening six minutes of action.  The Saints took a 9-4 lead after a bucket in the paint by Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) with 13:30 left in the half. The Seahawks tied the game at 10-all on a fastbreak lay-up by Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) nearing the 10-minute mark.

The Seahawks took their first lead of the night after a free throw and a three-ball from the top of the key by Harden, the team's leading scorer, who netted 10of Salve Regina's first 14 points. A three-pointer by Emmanuel guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) made it a one-point game with EC trailing, 16-15 and 6:35 left in the half.

Salve Regina rookie guard Kelsey Kennedy (Medford, N.J.) and Emmanuel forward Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.) exchanged trifectas at opposite ends and the Saints regained the lead at 20-19 with three minutes left in the half. Daley found a streaking Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.) who connected on an and-one on the break and Emmanuel led, 23-19, in the final minute of the half.

A field goal by Harden and a three-pointer by EC freshman Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.) brought the spread to 26-21, before Cassie Santoro (Durham, Conn.) drained a pair from the line. Emmanuel would score once more before the break, when Bramante fed Daley down low at the buzzer and the Saints carried a 28-23 edge into the locker room at halftime.

A sloppy first half featured the two teams combining for 21 turnovers at the break and 29.6% (8-27) field goal shooting by the Seahawks. Junior forward Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) led the Saints at the half with 8 points and 8 rebounds. Harden led Salve with 12 points in her 19 minutes of action.

The Seahawks clawed their way back to start the second half, with Harden burying a trey to cut the Salve deficit to 34-31. Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) scored on a baby hook down low and Harden put together an old-fashioned three-point play, as Salve regained the lead 38-36 just five minutes into the half.

Emmanuel then went on a 14-0 run over a span of four minutes, capped with a hoop in the paint by Negri, to surge back out in front, 50-38. The Seahawks were able to cut the Saints' lead down to seven, but Emmanuel quickly went back in front by double-digits, after Higgins' basket and the foul, followed by buckets down low by Bujnowski.

The Saints pushed their advantage to as many as twenty points at 65-45 with three minutes to go, after consecutive lay-ups from Higgins and Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.). The Seahawks were able to tack on five more points before it was over, but Emmanuel's late run was too much to overcome and the Saints came away with the 67-50 victory.

Daley led a trio of double-figure scorers in Emmanuel's balanced attack. The senior captain went 5-6 from the floor for 13 points, while dishing out 4 assists and collecting 3 seals. Bujnowski hit 6 of 8, netting 12 points, while Negri finished with 10 points and her 8 first-half rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Bramante and Higgins chipped in with 9 and 8 points respectively, while Britni Mikulanecz dished out a game-high 7 assists.  Freshman guard Sarah Schemerhorn (Los Angeles, Calif.) was strong off the bench for the Saints, hauling in 8 boards and handing out 5 helpers.

Harden led all scorers with 25 points for the Seahawks, knocking down 7-10 from the stripe. Del Valle hit for 10 points, while Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.), who recently recorded her 1,000th career point, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the effort for Salve.

Emmanuel will take the remainder of the week off, before returning to the court for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match-up at Lasell College next Monday at 7 p.m. The Seahawks will return to Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Wednesday, when they travel to Eastern Nazarene College for a 5 p.m. start.