CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Women's Basketball team opened up the 2010-11 season with a 66-36 win over Lesley University at Nicholas Athletics Center on Tuesday night. The game marked the season opener for both squads. Lesley forward Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, N.Y.) scored her 1,000th career point and led all scorers with 13 points on the night, while Emmanuel freshman Alyssa Schlehuber (Stoughton, Mass.) paced the Saints with 12 points.
For Wechsler, a pair of free throws with 1:00 remaining in the second half put her at and above 1,000 points, becoming the fourth Lesley player to surpass the highly coveted milestone.
The Saints exhausted the Lynx, running constant full-court pressure at Lesley and forcing the team into 26 first-half turnovers. Emmanuel took advantage of the miscues by the Lynx and the Saints went up 30-12 at intermission.
Sophomore forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) scored eight of her nine points in the first half, while Wechsler led only three Lesley first-half scorers with six.
Lesley hung around in the early portion of the second half, as an Emily Fleming steal and layup kept the Lynx within 18 with under 13:00 left, but an 11-0 run featuring seven points from Schlehuber put the Saints out in front by 30-plus in the waning minutes.
Schlenhuber finished with 12 points, knocking down 5 of 6 from the floor and hitting 2 for 2 from three-point range. Emmanuel senior guard Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) netted 9 points, while O'Dwyer led the Saints on the glass with 7 rebounds. Junior transfer Meaghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) dished out a team-high 4 assists for the visitors.
Lesley senior Brianne Caira (Pelham, N.H.), who led the New England Collegiate Conference with 61 blocks last season, swatted seven tonight, adding seven points and seven rebounds for the Lynx.
Emmanuel was near perfect from the free throw line, hitting 17 of 18 attempts. The Saints played great defense throughout the game, as they totaled 20 steals and forced Lesley into 44 turnovers en route to the 30-point win.
Lesley takes on Salem State in the Vikings Tip-Off Tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. Yosinoff's Saints take on the College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the E.C. Invitational. The Saints will tip off at 2:30pm. Williams College will play William Smith College in the earlier game. The two winners will square off on Sunday in the tournament championship at 3pm.