Seeds Hold as Top Four Advance to Thursday’s GNAC Women’s Basketball Semifinals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Seeds held true on Tuesday night in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, as the top four teams advanced to Thursday's semifinals. Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine handled eighth-seeded Rivier University, 72-62, while fourth-seeded Suffolk University held off fifth-seeded Norwich University, 55-51. Suffolk will travel to Saint Joseph's at 7:00 PM on Thursday for the semis.

Also on Tuesday evening, second-seeded Johnson & Wales University earned a 76-57 victory over seventh-seeded Lasell College and third-seed Emmanuel College took down sixth-seeded Albertus Magnus College, 73-63. JWU will host Emmanuel at 5:30 PM on Thursday in the other GNAC semifinal.

Be sure to watch all of the action at thegnac.tv. 

#1 SAINT JOSEPH'S 72, #8 RIVIER 62
STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (21-5) defeated #8 Rivier University (9-17), 72-62, in a GNAC Quarterfinal at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday evening.

THE LEAD
The game's first 75 seconds set the tone for what turned out to be a very entertaining contest, as the conference counterparts both hit their first five shots and the Raiders, who connected for a trio of three pointers during this span, held a 13-11 edge with 8:45 remaining in the first quarter.

Neither team managed to claim control before the break in a match-up that featured 16 lead changes and six tie scores in the first 20 minutes of play. With the aid of a 7-2 run in the final minutes of the second quarter, the Monks clung to a 37-35 advantage heading into intermission.

Saint Joseph's opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run and owned a 44-35 lead after senior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) netted a layup with seven minutes left in the stanza. The Raiders made just two field goals in 11 bids in the third frame, but remained in contention by making six of eight shots from the free throw line. The visitors did not face a double-digit deficit until sophomore guard Emily Quirion (Augusta, Maine) drained a pair from the stripe to put her team up 55-45 through three periods.

Rivier, which utilized a rotation of primarily seven different players, eventually ran out of steam, as the Monks – who featured 10 players with eight or more minutes of playing time - extended their lead to a game-high 13 points (61-48) when Cahill hit a jumper at the 6:26 mark of the fourth quarter. The Royal Blue proceeded to lead by at least seven points for the remainder of the tourney tilt.

PLAYOFFS?
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament and will host #4 Suffolk University at 7:00 PM on Thursday evening. The Rams defeated #5 Norwich University, 55-51, in other quarterfinal action tonight to remain alive in the conference tourney.

No upsets occurred in the first round of this year's GNAC Tournament, as #2 Johnson & Wales University defeated #7 Lasell College, 76-57, and #3 Emmanuel College topped #6 Albertus Magnus College, 73-63, this evening. Emmanuel and Johnson & Wales will face off in the other conference semifinal in Providence on Thursday night.

The loss signals the end of the 2015-16 season for Rivier and marks the third time in the last five seasons that the Monks have defeated the Raiders in the postseason.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S

• Despite early foul trouble, Cahill led the Monks with 18 points and added four rebounds and three blocked shots in 24 minutes
• Freshman forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) registered an impressive double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds – a game-high
• Freshman guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) tallied seven points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals
• Junior guard Abbie Eastman (Norway, Maine) was 2-3 from downtown with six points and three boards

LEADERS – RIVIER

• Junior guard Caitlyn Perry (Nashua, N.H.) netted a game-high 22 points
• Junior forward Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.) contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists
• Junior guard Caitlin Bulger (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, four caroms, seven assists, and three steals
• Junior forward Rebecca DeBaldo (Pelham, N.H.) added nine points
• Freshman guard Kaylee Kacavas (Dracut, Mass.) scored eight points with four boards and four assists

TEAM STATS
Saint Joseph's shot 49.1% (27-55) from the floor, 44.4% (4-9) from three-point distance, and 56% (14-25) from the free throw line while Rivier notched efforts of 33.3% (21-63), 28.6% (4-14), and 72.7% (16-22) from the field, downtown, and the charity stripe, respectively.

The Monks held advantages in rebounding (39-33), blocked shots (6-2), points in the paint (32-14), second-chance points (10-8), and bench points (20-2) in the tourney victory.

NOTEWORTHY
Cahill surpassed the 1,600-point plateau tonight and now has 1,606 career points over 107 contests.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 11-4 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in five consecutive meetings dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.

Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.

#2 JWU 76, #7 LASELL 57
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A fast start and better finish will send the Johnson & Wales University women's basketball team to the GNAC Tournament semifinals. The Wildcats outscored visiting Lasell College, 30-15, in the fourth quarter on their way to the 76-57 victory.

Records:
Lasell: 12-14
Johnson & Wales: 24 -2 

JWU Statistical Leaders:
Ashley Thompson: 2 Points, 8 Rebounds
Bobbie Whitehead (pictured): 18 Rebounds, 13 Points
Savannah Kresge: 20 Points, 6-10 3PT FG

The Lead:
The Lasers' Katie Stopera hit a three pointer as time expired in the third quarter to pull Lasell within 46-42. The Wildcats responded with an 11-3 run that essentially put the game out of reach. Johnson & Wales shot 73 percent in the final frame, including 80 percent from three point range.

Of Note:
Brianna Hoffman gave LC an 11-10 lead with a jumper at the 5:11 mark of the first quarter. Johnson & Wales answered with a 16-4 run to close the half. Six different players scored during the run, including Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) as she put in five of her game-high 22 points. Two Bobbie Whitehead (Bronx, NY) free throws put JWU up 43-30, but the Lasers outscored JWU 12-3 the rest of the quarter to pull within four.

The Wildcats dominated the glass, outrebounding the visitors, 58-35. Grabbing a game-high 18 boards – her highest total since pulling in a career-high 21 against Norwich – was Whitehead. She added 13 points for her ninth double-double of the year. Five different Wildcats grabbed at least five boards. Thompson was next with eight rebounds.

Both teams were active from three point range, hitting 10 threes each. Tossing in six three-pointers for the Wildcats, including five in the second half, was senior Savannah Kresge (Ellington, Conn.) as she scored 20 points off the bench. Her 20 points are just three off her career-high set against Albertus Magnus on Jan. 5.

Three Lasell players reached double figures, topped by Stopera's 18 points. Brianna Hoffman was next at 15 and Deanna Barrett added 10.

Up Next:
The Wildcats move on to the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament. They will play host to Emmanuel at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

#3 EMMANUEL 73, #6 ALBERTUS MAGNUS 63
BOSTON, Mass. – Four players scored in double-figures to lead Emmanuel past Albertus Magnus on Tuesday at the Jean Yawkey Center. With the victory, the Saints improve to 20-6 on the year and advance to the GNAC Semifinals while the loss drops the Falcons to 14-12 on the year.

EC senior guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) led the Saints with 20 points to go along with six rebounds, four steals, four assists and three blocks. Albertus Magnus sophomore forward Olivia Bolden (South Windsor, Conn.) led all scorers with 21 points while grabbing 10 boards for the double-double.

The Falcons came out of the gates flying high, soaring ahead to an early 7-4 lead following a layup by senior forward Chelsea Sherrod (Bridgeport, Conn.) but the Saints responded with a 8-0 run fueled by four points from Higgins to take a 12-7 lead.

Emmanuel led by as many as nine in the second quarter, taking a 27-18 lead with 6:13 to play in the half after a layup by junior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.). Albertus Magnus kept the pressure on and by the half cut the EC lead to 39-35.

Higgins led all scorers at the break with 14 points while Bolden paced the visitors with eight. Emmanuel held a 22-10 advantage with points in the paint while the Falcons owned a 9-6 margin in second chance points at the break.

The Saints opened the third quarter on fire with baskets on the first two possessions to push the lead to 43-35 following a layup by junior guard Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.). After a Falcons timeout, Emmanuel forced turnovers on the Falcons next two offensive sets, converting each for transition layups to bump the lead to double digits at 47-35.

With 7:25 to play in the third, a Marks triple increased the EC lead to 50-35 and on Emmanuel's ensuing offensive set, Marks made it 53-35 with her second three in a row. The Falcons finally got on the board in the quarter at the 5:18 marker with a pair of free throws by Bolden to make it 56-37, snapping Emmanuel's 17-0 run to open the second half. The Saints outscored the Falcons 26-11 in the quarter to take a 65-46 lead into the final frame.

Despite a late flurry by the Falcons, the 19 point lead proved too much for Albertus Magnus to overcome as Emmanuel coasted in the final quarter to the 73-63 win to advance to the GNAC Semifinals.

Along with Higgins' 20, Ezell chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Marks finished with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor while graduate student Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) posted a double-double of 10 point and a 15 rebounds, tying her career-high mark.

AMC sophomore guard Angelina Piccirillo (Naugatuck, Conn.) also posted double-figure for the Falcons with 14 points. Senior Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.) added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletics Communications.

#4 SUFFOLK 55, #5 NORWICH 51
BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Alexandra Nagri (Salem, N.H.) scored a season-high 19 points in Suffolk's 55-51 victory over Norwich on Tuesday. Nagri scored 12 of her game's 19 points in the second half as she finished the contest with a 4-for-8 effort from three point land to lead the Rams' attack.

Trailing by four at 46-42 with 5:54 remaining, Nagri would connect on one of her two three-pointers in the half to bring Suffolk back within a point. Sophomore Georgia Bourikas (Hull, Mass.) would then connect on a layup thirty-two seconds later to put Suffolk up by one, a lead that they would hold for the remainder of the contest.

Nagri would follow going to the line in the Rams' next possesion sinking both of her free-throws to put Suffolk up 49-46 with a little over four minutes remaining.

Bourikas would chip in with nine points in the victory for Suffolk, all coming in the second half as she was 3-for-5 from the floor in the closing twenty minutes.

Three players tallied double digit scoring totals in the setback for Norwich, including sophomore Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) who netted a team-high 14 points to go along with nine rebounds.

Freshman Vanessa Fleury (Lebanon, N.H.) posted a double-double for Norwich as she led with a team-high 10 rebounds and also put in 10 points.

Fleury was strong in the third quarter for the Cadets as her layup with 1:42 remaining in the period gave Norwich their largest lead of the night at 42-36. Norwich put together a 12-2 run midway through the period to grab the lead.

Suffolk would chip away midway into the fourth quarter until Bourikas' shot put them back up and in front for good.

Following three consecutive made free throws by Nagri, Harrison would bring Norwich back to a one possession contest as she nailed on of her game's two three-pointers at the 3:44 mark.

Senior Alessandra Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) would later answer with two of her game's eight points connecting on a 15-foot jumper to put Suffolk back up by three point.

Harrison would then come back with a layup, before Bourikas answered with another layup.

Nagri would then seal the game with 16 seconds remaining with her seventh made free-throw of the contest.

Quadri finished the game leading all players with 11 rebounds in the contest, despite Norwich holding the slight 45-43 edge on the glass in the game.

Junior Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Me.) added 13 points and nine rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks for the Cadets in the setback.

Norwich wraps up the 2015-16 season with a 14-12 record as they came in the number five seed with a 6-5 conference record.

Suffolk entered the eight-team field as the number four-seed and will now travel to number one-seed St. Joseph's College (Maine) on Thursday in the semifinals. The Monks defeated Rivier University 72-62 in their quarterfinal matchup. They improve to a 17-9 overall mark on the year.

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.

Quarterfinals - Tuesday, February 23

Game 1: #1 Saint Joseph's Maine 72, #8 Rivier 62 | BOX
Game 2: #4 Suffolk 55, #5 Norwich 51 | BOX
Game 3: #3 Emmanuel 73, #6 Albertus Magnus 63 | BOX
Game 4: #2 Johnson & Wales 76, #7 Lasell 57 | BOX

Semifinals - Thursday, February 25
Game 5: #4 Suffolk at #1 Saint Joseph's Maine - 7:00 PM
Game 6: #3 Emmanuel at #2 Johnson & Wales - 5:30 PM

Championship - Saturday, February 27
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner

– #TheGNAC –