The top-seeded Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team won the program's seventh-straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 2 Suffolk University, 68-45, in the Jean Yawkey Center. Emmanuel (23-5) will now advance with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament next Friday.
This is the fourth time that Emmanuel and Suffolk have squared off in the GNAC Championship. Emmanuel entered today's game having won the last eight meetings with Suffolk and with today's victory, the Saints are now 23-1 all-time against the Rams.
The Saints led end to end in Saturday afternoon's championship. Senior guard Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) buried a three to start things off for the Saints. Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) then knocked down a baseline jumper and Britni Mikulanecz (Portland, Me.) dialed in from downtown, as the host Saints quickly opened with the first eight points of the day and Suffolk signaled for a full time-out.
Emmanuel built a double-figure lead at 14-4, when Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass.) sunk a triple. Sticking with their patented full-court zone press, the Saints held the Rams to just two field goals through the first ten minutes of action.
Suffolk's senior guard Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, N.H.) hit jumpers on consecutive possessions and Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) scored from behind the arc, cutting the Rams' deficit to six points, 17-11, with eight minutes to go in the half. A pair of free throws from Suffolk junior forward Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) made it a four-point game, 21-17, with 4:40 on the clock.
Mikulanecz hit Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) on the break and O'Dwyer dropped a long-range jumper as part of an 8-2 Emmanuel run to close out the first half. The Saints would take a double-figure lead, 29-19, lead into the break at halftime.
O'Dwyer led all scorers at the break with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Quadri led Suffolk with 7 points, while Vienneau and Ruys scored 6 points apiece in the first half for the Rams.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime, O'Dwyer scored on Emmanuel's first possession and then stuck a pair from the line, as the Saints took a 33-21 lead just one-minute into the second frame. Ruys netted Suffolk's first five points of the half, including an and-one, before Daley knocked down another trey for the Saints. Benvenuto hit again from behind the arc and Chenae Earle (South Orange, N.J.) scored on the break to give the hosts a 41-25 lead with sixteen minutes remaining.
Just as Emmanuel began to pull away, Quadri hit a baseline jumper for the Rams to cap a 4-0 Suffolk run, trailing 41-29. An ensuing 7-2 run by the Saints was capped with Earle's second three-ball of the game and made it a 49-31 margin at the ten-minute mark.
After Vienneau scored down low, Suffolk threatened with some full court zone, but the Saints quickly passed through it and Benvenuto converted at the opposite end for Emmanuel. The Saints would pick apart the Suffolk press again with Daley as the benefactor on the lay-up and the hosts led 54-36. O'Dwyer hit another baseline jumper and Benvenuto connected on an old-fashion three-point play, as Emmanuel pushed the spread over twenty points, leading 57-36 with 5:40 left.
In the waning moments, the Saints went on a 10-4 run and led 66-40 with under two minutes left. Despite solid late game effort from Vienneau, who scored Suffolk's final five points of the game, the Saints pulled out the 68-45 win.
O'Dwyer and Benvenuto led Emmanuel with 15 points apiece. O'Dwyer also hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. Daley netted 10 points off of 4-5 shooting, while Earle finished with 8 points for the Saints. Mikulanecz dished out a career-high 9 assists in the win for Emmanuel. Emmanuel out-rebounded Suffolk, 40-35, and the Saints committed a season-low 12 turnovers in the game.
Ruys was the high-scorer for the Rams with 15 points. Vienneau finished with 13 points and 6 boards, while Quadri chipped in with 12.
O'Dwyer was selected the GNAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Both Benvenuto and Mikulanecz earned spots on the All-Tournament Team. Ruys and Vienneau were named to the All-Tourney Team for Suffolk.
Today's win sets the Saints at 23-5 on the season and Emmanuel secures an automatic bid to the national tournament. First round NCAA play will begin on Friday, March 1st. Information regarding Emmanuel's NCAA opponent and the game time and location will be posted on www.goecsaints.com. The Saints will be making the program's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Suffolk drops to 21-7 with the championship loss. The Rams will now wait to hear about a possible bid to the ECAC New England Regional Tournament.
2013 GNAC All-Tournament Team
Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) – Emmanuel College - Tournament Most Valuable Player
Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J.) – Emmanuel College
Britni Mikulanecz (Portland, Me.) – Emmanuel College
Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, N.H.) – Suffolk University
Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, Conn.) – Suffolk University
Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) – Saint Joseph's College (ME)
Annie Raucci (Milford CT) – Albertus Magnus College
(Story courtesy of Emmanuel College Saints Sports Information)