SAINTS COMPLETE THE SWEEP…AGAIN!

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team cruised to a 65-52 win at Albertus Magnus College in the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon. The victory completed the sweep of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponents for the Saints, as they improved to 19-6 overall and undefeated once again in the conference at 11-0.

Saturday's win marked Emmanuel's fourth-straight undefeated regular season in GNAC play.  The Saints now hold a streak of 52-consecutive regular season GNAC wins.  Including post-season conference play, Emmanuel has gone 64-0 against GNAC opponents, a streak dating back to February 9, 2010, when the Saints suffered a 70-67 loss to former GNAC foe, Emerson College.

Saturday's regular season finale opened with Emmanuel posting a 13-2 run. The run was driven by two long-range shots from sophomore guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.). Raucci ended the shutout with 16:35 left to play in the first half as she took the ball coast to coast dodging several Emmanuel defenders and laying it high off the glass.

Albertus Magnus soon demonstrated that they would not be taken lightly, as the Falcons responded with a 13-4 run to set the score at 15-7 with 7:22 left in the first half. The run was powered by two three-pointers from junior guard Taylor Jagoe.

The Falcons scored 10 points off turnovers in the first half.  The Saints edged out the Falcons in in first half shooting with a 29.3% field goal percentage, compared to the Falcon's 20%. Higgins led all scorers with 10 points at the break.  Junior forward Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) had eight points of her own and 12 first-half boards.

With just 0:10 left in the half, Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) posted up and kicked the ball out to Devin Rauh (Collegeville, Pa.), who hit a jumper to put the Saints up 31-20 at the half.

The second half consisted of much more back and forth action than the first. The Falcons cut their deficit down to three, 34-31, with a huge three-ball from Annie Sutila. Emmanuel then responded with a quick 8-0 run to regain their 11-point margin, as Higgins hit two jumpers and knocked down a free throw during the run.

The Saints kept their advantage for much of the second half opening up a 20-point lead with 4:18 left in the game. Emmanuel would pull out the 65-52, with the Saints just outscoring the Falcons 34-32 in the second frame. Higgins led all scorers with 17 points on the night. Negri added a double-double to the Saints' effort with 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.

Raucci showed great effort in the contest, scoring 10 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. Carrero added eight points for the Falcons.

The loss wrapped the season for Albertus Magnus College.  The Falcons end the 2013-14 campaign at 2-9 in GNAC play and 5-20 overall.

Emmanuel will once again be the top-seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament.  The Saints will play host the 8th-seeded Cadets of Norwich University in a GNAC Quarterfinal contest this Tuesday night. Tip-off in the Jean Yawkey Center is set for 7:00 PM.

Portions of this release courtesy of Albertus Magnus College Sports Information