BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team celebrated senior day with a 73-55 win over the visiting Mustangs of Mount Ida College on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the start of the game, the Saints celebrated the careers of the four seniors on the squad, Pamela Mobley, Carla Andre, Casey Shevlin and Kristin LeBel. Together, the seniors have won three-straight GNAC Championships and have totaled close to 2,000 career points.
The win lifted Emmanuel to 15-7 on the season, while Mount Ida fell to 7-15 overall. The Saints continued their unbeaten streak against Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents, improving to 9-0 in conference play.
After a mid range jumper from Mount Ida's Abigail Fedigan (New Fairfield, Conn.), Mobley quickly even the score at 2-all, before the Saints forced a steal and Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) laid in a hoop on the break. A fast-break lay-up, followed by a baseline jumper by LeBel put the Saints up 10-6 at the 15-minute mark
The Mustangs hung around early and cut their deficit to three-points at 18-15 with ten minutes remaining in the half, after a trifecta from Shannon Wood (Gorham, Me.) and a jumper on the break by Jeileen Rivera (Springfield, Mass.).
Following a Mount Ida timeout, the Saints quickly went on an 11-0 run, capped by a three-ball and a reverse lay-up from Kirwan and Emmanuel led 29-15 with 7:50 left in the half. Kirwan scored 13 points in the opening twelve minutes of play for the Saints.
Emmanuel doubled up Mount Ida's points at the 5-minute mark on a steal and lay-up by Shelvin, as the Saints led, 33-16. Emmanuel then went up twenty on the baseline trey by Shevlin. The Saints carried a solid 42-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Kirwan's 15 points led all scorers at halftime, as she shot a perfect 7 for 7 from the floor in the opening frame. Freshman center Victoria Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) added 8 points and 4 rebounds for the hosts. As a team, Emmanuel was 19-38 (50%) from the field in the first half, compared to 19% (6-31) shooting by Mount Ida. Rivera led the Mustangs with 9 points and 5 rebounds, while Wood chipped in with 8 first-half points.
Out of the break, the Saints quickly stretched their lead to 25 points on a hoop by Shevlin, off a nice feed from Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.). Emmanuel forced a myriad of Mount Ida turnovers, due to the Saints' full-court pressure and trapping zone defense. Emmanuel would go up by as many as 27 points late in the game, before pulling away with the 73-55 win.
Kirwan shot lights-out on the day, going a perfect 10 for 10 from the floor, totaling a game-high 21 points, to go along with her 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists. Johnson nearly tallied a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds, while blocking 4 shots.
All four Emmanuel seniors scored hoops in the win. Shevlin notched 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. LeBel, the program's 9th all-time leading scorer, finished with 6 points and 4 assists and Andre stuck a three for the Saints.
For the Mustangs, Wood led the way with 19 points and 5 assists. Rivera scored 14 points and hauled in 10 rebounds, while Katie Morvan (Northbridge, Mass.) hit for 12 point and grabbed a game-high 14 boards.
Emmanuel will host two remaining home games, taking on Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday and Saint Joseph College on Thursday. Both games will tip at 7pm in the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints' Tuesday night contest with the Falcons is Emmanuel's Pink Zone game for breast cancer awareness. Wear pink to the game in support of the nationwide fight against breast cancer.