BOSTON, Mass. – In a balanced offensive effort, the Emmanuel College women's basketball team defeated the Simmons Sharks, 69-56, Saturday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. The Saints, who never trailed in the contest, improve to 13-6 overall and remain unbeaten in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference at 7-0 while the Sharks fall to 3-15 and 1-7 in GNAC play.
Emmanuel took control of the game early, racing out to a 9-2 lead following a jumper by junior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) just 2:34 into the action. With 13:34 left to play in the opening frame, Simmons senior guard Brittany Dolloff (Hollis, N.H.) drained a pair of free throws to cut the Saints lead to 15-11 and at that point in the game had scored all 11 points for the Sharks.
Simmons would pull within a hoop after freshman guard Shae Riley (Sanford, Maine) netted a layup with 5:32 to play in the opening stanza to make it 24-22 but the Saints would answer with a quick 9-0 spurt capped by a deep three-ball by sophomore guard Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass.) to make it 33-22 with just over three minutes to play in the half. The Sharks would respond with a 5-0 run to close the half to make it 33-27 heading into the halftime intermission.
In the second half, a three pointer from the far wing by senior guard Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) increased the Saints lead back to double-digits, making it 44-33 with 14:30 left to play. Tiro would hit another deep trey from the baseline at the 11:02 mark to give the hosts a comfortable 51-38 advantage.
A fast break layup by freshman forward Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) made it a 15 point game with just under nine minutes remaining as senior guard Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) found Negri on the run for an easy transition hoop to make it 55-40, EC. Two possessions later, Negri returned the favor by coming up with a steal and feeding Kirwan on the fast break for a layup to put Emmanuel ahead 59-42 with 7:30 left in the contest.
Dolloff netted a pair of free throws with 2:14 left and junior forward Liz O'Connor (Milton, Mass.) converted one of two with 1:56 remaining to make it 67-50 but the Saints were able to wind down the clock and hold on the for 69-56 victory.
Kirwan finished the contest with a team-high 11 points while Tiro chipped in with nine points, all coming from behind the arc. Negri and O'Dwyer contributed eight points apiece while Ockimey finished the contest with seven.
For the Sharks, Dolloff led all scorers with 19 points on 5-9 shooting from the floor and 7-9 from the charity stripe. O'Connor played well with eight points and nine rebounds.
The Saints are idle until Wednesday, February 1 when they host Pine Manor College at 5:00 PM in another GNAC matchup while the Sharks host Albertus Magnus College the same night in a 7:00 PM tilt.