BOSTON, Mass. - For the second game in a row, the Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team fell short at home, this time to Eastern Connecticut State University, 73-55. The loss brings the Saints record to 2-2 on the season, and 1-2 record at the Jean Yawkey Center. Eastern Conn remains undefeated at 3-0 with the win. The Warriors have now won four of the last six games between these two teams, in a rivalry that dates back to 1989.
After scoring the first bucket of the game, Eastern Connecticut State scored 7 points in a row to take a 7-2 lead. After back-to-back buckets by the Saints, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run led by Jessica Moriarty (East Haven, Conn.). Moriarty scored five points while dishing out two assists in the first six minutes of the game. She finished the game as the leading scorer with 18 points.
A deep baseline three-pointer by Emmanuel's Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) ended a five-minute scoreless spell for the Saints, as Emmanuel trailed 19-9 with 11 minutes left in the half. A quick bucket by ECSU's Piper Chapman (Portsmouth, R.I.) forced Saints Head Coach Andy Yosinoff to call for a timeout down 21-9 with 11:10 on the clock.
Out of the timeout, Jade Santos (Plymouth, Mass.) came into the game and immediately knocked down a mid range jumper to cut the deficit to 10. For the next four minutes, both teams buckled down on defense and the score was 26-16 Eastern Connecticut State with seven minutes left in the half. While the Saints struggled to score, Sophomore Chenae Earle (South Orange, N.J.) was a spark plug scoring five of Emmanuel's next seven points off the bench.
Heading into the last five minutes with the Saints down seven, the Warriors outscored Emmanuel 14-4 to end the half with a 40-23 lead. Eastern Connecticut's defense forced nine turnovers, leading to 15 points. Tanisha Carter (East Hartford, Conn.) made Emmanuel pay by scoring eight points, while shooting 80 percent and scoring three of her baskets off offensive rebounds.
The first half was dominated by the Warriors ability to rebound and take high percentage shots. Eastern Connecticut played a brilliant 20 minutes, out-rebounding Emmanuel 22-10 while shooting 50 percent (17-34) from the field.
The second half began differently, with both teams exchanging the first eight baskets, including a three-pointer by Emmanuel's Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) from the top of the key. The momentum then quickly shifted back to Eastern, as Amanda Pierloni (Plainville, Conn.) drained her second of three treys on the night and ECSU went on an 11-0 run. Pierloni was deadly from the outside hitting three of her four shots from behind the arc and finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. The Warriors led 58-31 at the 10-minute mark.
Over the next seven minutes, the Saints slowly chipped away. The Saints' catalyst was freshman Alyssa Schlehuber (Stoughton, Mass.) coming off the bench to score 10 of the next 16 Emmanuel points. She finished with 13 points for the game, while shooting 5-6 from the field.
The first half deficit proved to be too much for Emmanuel to overcome and Eastern held on for a 73-55 win. Moriarty led all scorers with 18 points on 8 for 13 shooting, to go along with 7 assists. Pierlioni was just shy of a triple double, notching 13 points, 9 assists and 8 boards. Chapman finished with 8 points and a game-high 9 rebounds, while Carter chipped in with 9 points and 7 boards.
Emmanuel was led by Schlehuber's 13 points. O'Dwyer was the Saints' only other double figure scorer, as she hit for 10 points and hauled in 6 rebounds on the night.
The Saints will return to action after the holiday break, taking on Brandeis University on November 30th in Waltham, Mass.