WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: High Seeds Cruise in GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

#1 SJC 99, #8 JWU 75

STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (26-0) cruised past #8 Johnson & Wales University (6-20), 99-75, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday evening.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's – ranked eighth and 10th nationally in this week's D3Hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) polls, respectively - advances to the second round of the GNAC tourney for the fourth-consecutive season and will host #4 Suffolk University (19-7) in a semifinal matchup on Thursday at 5:00 PM. The Rams topped #5 Anna Maria College, 68-58, in other quarterfinal action tonight. For Johnson & Wales, the loss signals the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks held a 22-14 lead after the first quarter and effectively put the game out of reach with a dominant second stanza. St. Joe's shot 70.6% (12-17) from the field while outscoring Johnson & Wales by a 37-16 margin leading up to intermission and held a 59-30 advantage at the break.

Saint Joseph's proceeded to claim a game-high 34-point cushion when junior guard Julia Quinn (Fryeburg, Maine) drilled a three-pointer with 3:38 left in the third frame.

STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks held sizeable leads in second-chance points (19-10), points in the paint (36-22), and bench points (20-10).

BEYOND THE BOX:
With the victory, the Monks extend their home winning streak to 50 games, a string that ties the longest home stretch in SJC Athletics history – the men's basketball program won 50 straight at home in the late 1990's…37 points is the most scored in a quarter by Saint Joseph's since the NCAA adopted a rule change moving from halves to quarters (114 games) prior to the start of the 2015-16 season…75 points is the most allowed by the Monks this season and highest scored by an SJC opponent since SJC defeated Suffolk, 82-79, on January 27th, 2018.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Senior guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) scored 29 points with seven assists and five rebounds and was 5-for-7 from three-point distance
• Senior guard Julia Champagne (Brunswick, Maine) was 4-for-6 from downtown with 22 points
• Senior forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) added 14 points, six rebounds, and a pair of assists
• Senior guard Hannah Marks (Waldoboro, Maine) chipped in with 12 points, eight caroms, and two assists
• Freshman guard Alyson Fillion (Bedford, N.H.) came off the bench to s core eight points

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:

• Senior forward Ally Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.) scored 27 points with eight boards and three assists
• Freshman guard Dede Stevenson (Hartford, Conn.) added 15 points, three boards, and two assists
• Sophomore forward Marissa Cottrell (New Britain, Conn.) contributed 13 points and a pair of assists

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 11-5 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University and has defeated the Wildcats in six-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2015-16 season.

Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.

#2 EMMANUEL 61, #7 COLBY-SAWYER 39

THE LEAD: Junior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda posted her 17th double-double of the season to propel No.2 Emmanuel College past No. 7 Colby-Sawyer College, 61-39, Tuesday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED   

• The squads traded leads in the first quarter, exchanging baskets through the first five minutes of action with the Chargers owning a 9-7 lead at the midway marker following a triple by junior center Tianna Sugars (Oxford, Maine).
• Emmanuel closed out the quarter on an 8-4 flurry to carry a 15-13 lead into the second stanza.
• Back-to-back threes by EC freshman Molly deBettencourt (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) to open the second quarter helped the Saints take a 21-13 lead but the Chargers answered with consecutive hoops to pull within four at 21-17.
• A steal and fast break layup by senior guard Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) in the final possession of the half lifted Emmanuel to a 32-23 lead at the intermission.
• McLaughlin connected on a three to open the third quarter to give the Saints their first double-digit lead of the evening at 35-23.
• The Saints continued to build the lead in the third as steal and layup by junior guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) moved the score to 51-32 with under two minutes to play in the frame before freshman Arina Ovchinnikova (Moscow, Russia) drainer a jumper in transition at the third quarter buzzer to give EC a 53-32 advantage heading into the final quarter.
• The lead proved too much for the Chargers to overcome as Emmanuel held on for the 61-39 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Ramirez-Tejeda finished with a game-high 19 points and a team-high 12 rebounds
• deBettencourt added 11 points going 3-for-5 from downtown in the win.
• Sugars played well in defeat for the Chargers with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds while sophomore guard Mackenzie Buzzell (Lovell, Maine) added 10 points.
• Emmanuel forced Colby-Sawyer in 28 turnovers on the night which they converted in 23 points.
• The 39 points allowed by the Saints was a season-low for opponents during the 2018-19 slate.

OF NOTE

• Emmanuel improved to 5-0 all-time against the Chargers with a pair of victories versus Colby-Sawyer in the last three days.
• EC advances to the GNAC Semifinals for the fifth straight season and the 22nd time in the last 23 years. The only season the Saints failed to advance to the semifinal round was in 2014 when Emmanuel held the No. 1 seed in the tournament and was stunned in quarterfinals by No. 8 Norwich, 84-78 in overtime.
• The Saints own a 57-8 all-time GNAC tournament record with 15 GNAC championship wins, but the program has not come out on top since 2013.

UP NEXT

·        The Saints will host No. 3 Albertus Magnus College match up on Thursday evening (7:00 PM) for a chance to play in the 2019 GNAC Championship game.

Courtesy of EC Athletics Communications.

#3 ALBERTUS 82, #6 REGIS 74

New Haven, Conn. – Junior guard Shyla Osmond (New Haven, Conn.) of the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team joined the 1,000 career points club in the Falcons' home win over sixth-seeded Regis College, 82-74, Tuesday evening at "The Nest" in a quarterfinal game of the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• Sophomore Raegon Shirling-Davis (Waterbury, Conn.) hit a three-pointer to open the game and give Albertus a lead it would relinquish only once in the first quarter on a Pride layup that tied the game at 6-6.
• Layups by Jill Johnson (North Haven, Conn.) and Shirling-Davis allowed the Falcons to quickly retake the lead, 10-6.
• Albertus would maintain that advantage through the rest of the quarter, entering the second with a 19-15 lead.
• Down 29-24, after a layup by Osmond, Regis went on to score five straight points to even the game at 29-29.
• The Falcons answered with five unanswered points of their own, but a traditional three-point play from Valerie Martin and a three-pointer by Maura Russell closed the Pride deficit to one, 36-35, heading into halftime.

Second Half:

• Katryna Veasey opened the second half with a layup to give the Pride their first lead of the game, 37-36, but the two teams would trade the lead for the next minute.
• Albertus reestablished its advantage, 45-41, on a three-pointer by Johnson and a jumper by Rah Rah Thompson (Bridgeport, Conn.).
• After two free throws by Martin, the Falcons scored six straight points thanks to two baskets by Thompson and one by Osmond.
• The Pride battled back, putting together a 9-1 scoring run that tied the game at 52-52 with 1:33 left on the clock.
• Osmond made two free throws and Johnson hit a layup on the Falcons' final possession of the period to put the home team ahead after three quarters, 56-53.
• Martin hit two free throws three minutes into the fourth quarter to close the gap to two at 60-58.
• Albertus Magnus responded with an 18-4 scoring run over the next five minutes that effectively put the game away.

KEY PERFORMANCES
Albertus:

• Shyla Osmond – 24 Points (10-19 FG, 0-3 3PT, 4-4 FT) |7 rebounds | 5 assists | 2 steals
• Rah Rah Thompson – 18 Points (6-12 FG, 0-1 3PT, 6-8 FT) | 12 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal | 1 block
• Jill Johnson – 14 points (5-11 FG, 2-2 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 7 rebounds | 2 assists
• Raegon Shirling-Davis – 11 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 3PT) | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals

Regis:

• Valerie Martin – 28 Points | 13 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal
• Katryna Veasey – 15 Points | 3 rebounds

UP NEXT

The third-seeded Falcons travel to Boston, Mass. on Thursday, February 21 to take on the second-seeded Emmanuel College Saints in the GNAC semifinals. Tip-off is set for 7pm. 

Courtesy of Albertus Athletics Communications.

#4 SUFFOLK 68, #5 ANNA MARIA 58 

BOSTON – The fourth-seeded Suffolk women's basketball team maintained its composure down the stretch to defeat fifth-seeded Anna Maria, 68-58, in the GNAC Quarterfinals Tuesday night inside Regan Gymnasium. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Anna Maria trimmed Suffolk's early 9-6 edge into one-point game out of its own timeout. The Rams ran away from there scoring nine straight points to close out the opening quarter and build an 18-8 cushion. 

The AMCATS responded to Suffolk's spurt with an 8-2 run of its own to open the second stanza and cut the blue-and-gold's lead to four, 20-16, with 5:03 to play before intermission. 

Jordan Hipwell and Marissa Gudauskas took matters into their own hands to secure double-digit distance for the hosts once again, 32-16. Hipwell used power lay-ups and free throws to contribute six points to the stretch, while Gudauskas knocked down a pair of triples.  

Anna Maria closed out the first half with five unanswered points to slice Suffolk's advantage to 11, 32-21, at the break. 

The deficit shrunk back to single digits as the AMCATS put away the first hoop of the third quarter. Suffolk held the visitors there as Hipwell and Gudauskas teamed up again to stretch the Rams' cushion to 15, 34-28, at the 3:58-minute mark.  

Suffolk's advantage dwindled over the final three minutes as Anna Maria strung together a 12-5 spurt to make it an eight-point game, 50-42, with the final 10 minutes to play.  

The Rams offense was limited to just one field goal and free throws over the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, which allowed the AMCATs to play catch and even the score at 57-all with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.  

Jenni-Rose DiCecco took over out of a blue-and-gold timeout. The sophomore turned a traditional three-point play, scored a lay-up on Suffolk's next possession and put away a pair of freebies to regain a six-point edge, 64-57, with 36.1 left.  

Suffolk locked up the win from the free throw line, going 4-for-4, over the final 30 seconds to punch its spot in the semifinals.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Gudauskas led a quartet of Rams in double figures with 20 points. The senior shot 6-for-11 from the field including 4-for-9 from downtown and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. 
• DiCecco registered 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half and 13 alone in the fourth frame. The floor general set-up six shots and pulled down eight rebounds. 
• Hipwell contributed a double-double effort of 12 points and 11 caroms. 
• Gabriella DeComo completed the foursome in double digits with 11 behind a 4-for-9 performance from the floor, which included a 2-for-4 showing from three-point range. 
• Suffolk shot 38.8 percent (19-49) from the floor, just 24.0 percent (6-25) from behind-the-arc and 88.9 percent (24-27) from the line. 
• The Rams won the battle on the glass, 39-29. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk made its 24th appearance in the GNAC Tournament. 
• The Rams met Anna Maria for the first time in the conference postseason. 
• The blue-and-gold remain unbeaten all-time versus the AMACTS (9-0). 
• Suffolk advances to the league's semifinals for the second straight season and 11th time overall. 
• Hipwell hit her sixth double-double of her collegiate career, fourth of the season and first since Jan. 31, 2019 at Pine Manor.  

COMING UP
Suffolk continues its journey for GNAC glory Thursday, Feb. 21 when it tips off in the league's semifinals. The Rams opponent and location of the tilt will be determined following the conclusion of all quarterfinal contests. 

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –