Emmanuel Wins 4th Straight GNAC Championship

EMMANUEL WINS 4^TH-STRAIGHT GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP

BOSTON, Mass. - The top-seeded Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team defeated 2^nd-seeded Norwich University, 75-61, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon.  In front of a packed house at the Jean Yawkey Center, the Saints cruised to their fourth-straight GNAC title and their 14^th conference championship since the league's inception.  Emmanuel will now make its 15^th NCAA Tournament appearance, as the winner of the GNAC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the national tourney.

Just four seconds in the game, Emmanuel junior Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) found senior guard Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J.) for a quick two and the Saints would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest.  Christine Daniels (Concord, N.H.) hit consecutive jumpers, before Davis drained a three and Emmanuel led, 7-4.

An and-one by Jess Jaggars (Vergennes, Vt.) and a triple by Erica Rate (Weymouth, Mass.) brought the score to 11-10 at the 15-minute mark.  Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Rate then exchanged two triples apiece on opposite ends over an unbelievable one-minute span to bring the spread to 17-13.  A trey from Ally Daniels (Concord, N.H.) knotted the contest at 21-ll at the 10-minute mark.

Two lay-ups from Davis and one from Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) gave the Saints a 27-21 lead with under seven minutes to play in the half.  A fast-break lay-up from Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) and a three-ball from LeBel capped a 13-2 Emmanuel run and forced a Norwich time-out, as the Saints led 34-23 with 4:23 on the clock.

Jaggars hit a jumper and Natalie Marchese (Rutland, Vt.) put one in on the break to cut the Cadets' deficit to 34-27 with under two minutes to go in the half.  An Emmanuel jumper by Jade Santos (Plymouth, Mass.) and a free throw from Jaggars at the other end brought the score to 36-28 at the break. Davis opened the second half with a bucket in the paint to give Emmanuel a double-digit cushion.  Shevlin stuck a baseline tri-fecta to put the Saints on top, 42-30, with 16 minutes left to play.

Two jumpers from Christine Daniels and a runner in the lane from Marchese accounted for the Cadets' points during the first five minutes of the second frame.  Consecutive hoops from Rate and another from C.Daniels forced an Emmanuel time-out with the score at 45-38, Saints.

Ockimey hit her third triple of the game to bring the spread back into double figures (48-38) with 12:30 to go. After another hoop in the paint by C.Daniels brought the score to 48-42, the Saints were forced to call for a full time-out.  C.Daniels scored 10 points in 10 minutes of action to open the second frame and accounted for 10 of Norwich's 14 points to start the period.

A big three from the top of the key by Shevlin extended the EC lead to 53-42 before LeBel was fouled in the act of shooting from behind the arc.  She drained all three freebies and the Saints were up 56-42 with 8:28 on the clock.  The free throws capped an 8-0 Emmanuel run after the Saints' time-out.

An and-one by Marchese ended a 5-0 ensuing run by the Cadets and they trailed, 56-47 with 8 minutes to play.  The two teams exchanged hoops over the next three minutes, before a jumper by O'Dwyer gave EC a 65-53 lead at the five-minute mark. 

A lay-up by LeBel and a free throw by O'Dwyer put Emmanuel up by 15 points.  Four more free throws from O'Dwyer and Davis gave the Saints their largest lead of the night (72-54) with under four minutes to go.  Emmanuel held on to the solid double-digit lead for the remainder of the game and the Saints pulled out the 75-61 championship win.

Davis led all scorers and posted a near triple-double, as she poured in 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 8 assists and collected 5 steals in a solid 31-minute effort.  LeBel, who entered the contest just 25 points shy of 1,000 for her career, finished with 13 points and 3 assists.  Shevlin kicked in 12 points on 4 for 8 shooting, to go along with her 4 assists.  O'Dwyer chipped in with 10 points, while Abby Brenkach (Germantown, N.Y.) hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds.

C. Daniels led four Cadets scoring in double-figures, with 17 points and 7 rebounds.  Rate added 14 points, while Marchese netted 12 points and dished out 5 assists.  Jaggars recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Davis was named the GNAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player, while LeBel and Shevlin received All-Tournament Team honors for the Saints.  For Norwich, Rate and Jaggars were selected to the All-Tournament Team. GNAC semifinalists, Bianca Brown (Albertus Magnus College) and Julianna Eagles (Simmons College) also received All-Tournament Team honors.

Emmanuel will now advance to the NCAA Tournament.  The Saints will be making their 15^th appearance in the big dance.  The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be played on March 5^th and 6^th at sites to be determined.  The NCAA selection show will take place on Monday, March 1^st.  The announcement will be presented via webcast on www.NCAA.com beginning at 12:30 p.m. (eastern standard time).  The bracket will also be posted on www.NCAA.com at approximately 1 p.m on Monday.

*Courtesy Emmanuel College Athletic Communications