Emmanuel Wins 5th Straight GNAC Championship

BOSTON, Mass. – The No. 1-seeded Emmanuel College Women’s Basketball Team defeated 2^nd-seeded Suffolk University, 83-67, for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon in the Jean Yawkey Center.  This is Emmanuel’s 5^th-straight GNAC Championship and the Saints’ 13^th since the inception of the conference in 1996.  The Rams were vying for Suffolk’s first GNAC title, but could not hold off the host Saints.

Emmanuel improved to 21-7 on the season and this is the Saints’ 11^th-straight twenty-win season.  The Saints will now be making their 16^th NCAA Tournament appearance.  Suffolk dropped to 18-10 overall and will wait to hear about a potential ECAC Tournament bid.

The GNAC Championship opened with Suffolk sophomore guard Lindsey Rogers (Gloucester, Mass.) draining a three-ball on the Rams’ first possession.  Mary Garon (Auburn, N.H.) then knocked down a bucket and Suffolk took an early 5-0 lead.  After a couple hoops by Emmanuel’s Fiona O’Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.), Suffolk’s leading-scorer Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) dropped a deep two and forced a Saints’ timeout with Suffolk up 15-10 at the 15-minute mark.

A Suffolk jumper by Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, N.H.) made it a 21-16 ballgame at the ten-minute mark. A backboard triple from Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) and a pair of free throws by O’Dwyer knotted the contest at 21-all with 8:32 on the clock.  Freshman center Victoria Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) then hit a baseline jumper to cap a 7-0 Saints’ run and give Emmanuel its first lead of the day, 23-21.

The Rams then mounted a 6-0 run of their own to take a 27-23 advantage with 6:15 left in the half.  A left wing jumper by Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) and a hoop in the paint by O’Dwyer tied the game again at 27-all with five minutes to play in the half.  A trifecta by Kirwan and a runner by Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) put Emmanuel up 32-29 and forced a full timeout by the Rams.

Out of the timeout, LeBel rebounded a Suffolk miss and rifled a pass the length of the court to Kirwan, who hit the layup and was fouled, as Emmanuel took a 35-29 lead with 4 minutes to go.  Senior point guard Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) picked up her 6^th assist of the night on a nice feed to Ockimey down low, as Emmanuel took a 39-32 lead at the two-minute mark.

A pair of Suffolk freebies by Rogers cut the Rams’ deficit to three points (39-36) with under a minute to play.  The Saints held on and carried their three-point edge into the locker room at halftime.

Suffolk shot 50% (15-3) from the floor in the opening half.  The Rams were led by Ruys’ 14 points on 7 for 8 shooting.  Suffolk out-rebounded Emmanuel, 23-21 in the opening frame, led by 6 boards from Ruys.

Emmanuel got a combined 29 first-half points from O’Dwyer (14) and Kirwan (15).  Shevlin’s 6 assists was a first-half high for both teams.  Emmanuel finished the frame with 40.5% (17-42) shooting.

The second period opened with Emmanuel scoring three-straight hoops in 61 seconds to open up a 45-36 lead, forcing an immediate Suffolk University timeout. Consecutive lay-ups by LeBel off feeds from Kirwan made it a double-digit Saints’ lead at 49-36 and Suffolk signaled for another timeout with 17:52 to play.

The Rams’ backcourt struggled with the Saints’ full-court zone pressure, turning the ball over multiple times in the opening minutes of the second stanza.  Another hoop from LeBel and a layup by O’Dwyer capped a 14-0 Emmanuel run to open the half, as the Saints led, 53-36.  Suffolk was able to end their scoring drought on a hoop by Vienneau three minutes into the half.

A steal and layup by Johnson stretched the lead over twenty points at, 63-42.  The Rams then went on an 11-2 run, sparked by the play of Garon, who drained a deep three-pointer, as Suffolk trailed 65-54 at the ten-minute mark.  A pair of free throws by Meghan Black (Roslindale, Mass.) cut the deficit to single digits and a layup by Vienneau made it a 65-58 game, capping a 16-2 Suffolk run with 8 minutes to go.

O’Dwyer hit a trey from the top of the key to put the Saints out in front, 70-58.  A Suffolk basket in the paint by Dominique Demar (Colchester, Conn.) made it an eight-point game, 70-62 with five minutes remaining.  However, the early second half fourteen-point run by the hosts proved too much for the Rams to overcome.  Consecutive three-pointers from the both wings by LeBel put Emmanuel up, 83-66, at the one-minute mark and the Saints held on for the 83-67 win.

O’Dwyer finished with a game-high 26 points, shooting 11 for 19 from the floor. The sophomore forward also hauled in 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in a solid 37-minute effort.  Kirwan scored 23 points on 10 for 18 shooting. She neared triple-double territory with a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with her 8 steals.  LeBel finished with 18 points, scoring 14 in the second half, while dishing out 7 assists.  Shevlin dished out a game-high 10 assists, to go along with 6 points and 6 steals in the win.

Suffolk was led by Ruys’ 16 points and 7 rebounds.  Rogers chipped in with 11 points and Garon rounded out a trio of double-figure scorers for the Rams with 10 points and 6 rebounds.  Black finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort.

Kirwan was named the GNAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.  O’Dwyer and Shevlin received All-Tournament Team honors for the Saints.  Both Ruys and Black were named to the All-Tournament Team for the Rams.

Emmanuel will now advance to the NCAA Tournament.  The Saints will compete next Friday (3/4). The location of the game and the Saints’ opponent will be determined on Monday afternoon.