Higher Seeds Emmanuel;Elms Advance to GNAC Quarterfinals

WINTHROP, Mass. - Both top seeds defended home-court tonight in their play-in games as seven seed Emmanuel defeated 10 seed Regis 74-44 on the Andy Yosinoff Court while eight seed Elms defeated nine seed Lasell 66-60 at Picknelly Arenas. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal games are set to begin tomorrow as the Saints will match up with the two seed and reigning back-to-back GNAC Champion Saint Joseph's (Maine) in Standish, Maine with a 5:30 pm start time while the Blazers will head down to Providence, Rhode Island to take on top-seeded Johnson & Wales in a 6pm tilt. The winners of the quarterfinals will advance to the semifinals to play on Thursday, Feb. 27th and those winners will head to the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, March 1st.

Recap Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletic Communications

BOSTON – Posting 41 points in the second half, Emmanuel women's basketball pulled away from the Regis Pride in Monday's 74-44 win in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Play-In Round on Yosinoff Court. The win advances the Saints into the GNAC Quarterfinals, where familiar foe, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, awaits.

The win moves Emmanuel to 14-12 and secures the 45^th season above a .500 winning percentage for head coach Andy Yosinoff. The Pride drop to 6-19 as their season finishes with Monday's loss.

The story of Monday was the fast starts to each quarter Emmanuel had in their playoff win. The Saints started the first quarter on a 10-2 run with five different Saints contributing to the early lead. The home side led by as many as a dozen in the opening 10 minutes, eventually settling for an 18-9 lead after one quarter.

The first nine points of the second quarter belonged to the Saints as their 9-0 stretch opened up a 27-9 lead. That 18-point advantage was the largest of the first half for the Saints as Regis bounced back with a 13-6 run to finish the second quarter, closing the deficit to 33-22 at the break.

Another 9-0 Emmanuel run was waiting after halftime as the Saints lead stretched to 20 points with 4:59 remaining in the third quarter. The Saints went on to outscore the Pride 21-6 in the third quarter, giving the home team a 54-28 lead, heading to the fourth.

With the win in hand, the Saints emptied their bench and produced a 20-point fourth quarter, on their way to a 30-point GNAC Postseason win over the Pride.

Saints sophomore Kaitlyn Bartash finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and eight blocks in 21 minutes. Senior Desiree Robinson added 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Sophomore Kalia Saunders and first-year Lia Krumian both added eight points off the bench. All 12 Saints scored at least two points in Monday's win.

Pride graduate guard Courtney Doherty finished with a game-high 14 points in 37 minutes. Junior Madi Zancan added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Pride while junior Erika Marinelli chipped in with seven points.

The No. 7 seeded Saints make the trip to the No. 2 seed, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for a 5:30 p.m. tip in the GNAC Quarterfinals. The winner of Tuesday's game advances to the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday night.

Recap Courtesy of Elms Athletic Communications Department

CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Number Eight Seeded Elms College Women's Basketball hosted the Number Nine Seeded Lasell University in the Play-In Round of the 2024-2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Monday evening at Picknelly Arena.

BASICS
Score: No. 8 Elms College 66 | No. 9 Lasell University 60
Records: Blazers 10-16, 6-8 (GNAC) | Lazers 11-15, 6-8 (GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

At the start of the first quarter the ball would go back and forth until Lasell put the first points on the board. Then Elms would get the ball and first year forward/center Mary Turco (Winthrop, Mass.) would get an offensive rebound and tip the ball into the basket. Then junior guard Piper Graham (Lancaster, Penn.) would get a defensive rebound and junior forward/center Talia Uribe (South Hadley, Mass.) would make a jump shot. After Lasell put up some more points, graduate student guard Rahmia Johnston (Newton, Conn.) would get a pass from sophomore guard Jade Lewis (Orlando, Fla.) and would make a three point jump shot. After more back and forth and more points put up by the Lasers Johnston would pass the ball to Uribe who made a jump shot which closed the gap. At the end of the first quarter, junior forward Jenny Gorski (Vernon, Conn,) would steal the ball. We would see the same narrative in the second quarter, where Lasell put up the first points. However after more back and forth, Lewis would make a layup. Then Lewis would pass the ball to Johnston who made a three point jump shot for the Blazers. Lewis would steal the ball from the Lasers, but then Laseel would foul Johnston who made both free throw attempts. The Lasers would foul Elms again, but this time it was on Gorski, who made one out of the two free throw attempts. After the missed free throw, Gorski would get an offensive rebound which gave Turco the opportunity to make a layup. After the Blazers deadball rebound, Uribe would be fouled and make one out of the two free throw attempts. Then Johnston would steal the ball and the Lasers would foul Elms again. Lewis would make one out of the two free throw attempts. After another steal from Johnston, Lasell would foul Elms again and Johnston would make both free throw attempts. This would only put the Blazers done by one. After Lasell put up more points to hold the lead, they would foul Lewis, who made one out of the two free throw attempts. Elms would capitalize on the fouls made by Lasell, especially when they fouled Lewis, who made one out of the two free throw attempts. At the end of the second quarter, Elms would be down by three, 28-25

At the start of the third quarter, Elms would put up the first points with a three point jump shot made by Lewis. Then Graham would pass the ball to Turco, who made a layup. Turco would make a defensive rebound and Lewis was given the opportunity to make a jump shot. Lasell would take back the lead, but Lewis would decrease the difference with a layup from a pass from sophomore guard/forward Sophia Andrade (Southwick, Mass.). Then first year guard Gabby Wasiewicz (Worcester, Mass.) would get a defensive rebound, which gave the opportunity for Andrade to make a three point jump shot from a pass from Lewis. After more back and forth, Uribe would tie the game with a tip-in after making an offensive rebound. Then Lewis would make a layup after the Laser took back the lead. At the end of the third quarter, Johnston would tie the game with a three point jump shot with an assist from Andrade. Elms put up the first points of the fourth quarter with a layup made by Johnston which was made possible by a defensive rebound made by Uribe. Then Turco would get a defensive rebound and then Lewis made a layup. After more back and forth, Lasell would take back the lead, but then Uribe would be fouled and make both free throw attempts to tie the game. Then Uribe would get a defensive rebound and Johnston would make a layup. The Lasers would foul the Blazers and Johnston would make her one free throw attempt. Then Lewis would be fouled and would make one out of the two free throw attempts. With two minutes left, Uribe would pass the ball to Andrade, who would make a three point jump shot. Then Lewis would be fouled and make both free throw attempts. Johnston would be the next to be fouled and make both free throw attempts. With back to back fouls, Lewis would make one out the two free throw attempts and Johnston would also make one out the two free throw attempts. The Blazers would hold the lead, which was clenched with Johnston making one out the two free throw attempts. Elms would take home the lead and advance to the quarterfinals, 66-60.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Lewis - 22 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

• Johnston - 22 points, two rebounds, an assist, and two steals.

• Uribe - nine points, five rebounds, and two assists.

• Turco - six points and six rebounds.

• Andrade - six points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

• Gorski - a point, 11 rebounds, two steals, and a block.

UP NEXT: The Elms College Women's Basketball team will travel to Johnson and Wales University to face off in the Quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament on Tuesday, February 25th at 6 pm.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 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.

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