Women's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker in GNAC Semis

– Junior forward Sarah Higgins' (Groveland, Mass.) free throw with 5.3 seconds in regulation lifted No. 1 Emmanuel College over No. 4 Suffolk University,66-65, in the semifinal round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball tournament Thursday evening in the Jean Yawkey Center. With the win, the top-seeded Saints will now host No. 3 Johnson & Wales University in GNAC Championship on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM.

The Saints trailed by as many as seven points early in the second half before turning things around to advance for a shot at the program's 16^th GNAC Championship.

During crunch time, Suffolk junior guard Alessandra Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) gave the Rams a four point cushion at 59-55 with 5:29 left in regulation but over the next minute, EC answered with a 5-0 spurt capped by a Higgins three to bump Emmanuel on top 60-59.

Suffolk regained the lead at 61-60 as sophomore guard Kelsey Schiebel (Windham, N.H.) stepped up to the line and drained a pair of bonus free throws despite the noise from a raucous crowd with 4:10 to play.

Both teams went scoreless on their next offensive sets before Emmanuel freshman guard Sasha Puglisi (Cross River, N.Y.) finished a back-door layup with the help of a Higgins assist, pulling the hosts ahead by one at 62-61 with less than 3 minutes to play.

A defensive stop by the Saints and a transition basket by senior forward Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass.) bumped the lead to 64-61 with 2:16 left on the clock . Another EC stop on the defensive side gave the Saints a chance to make it a two possession game and thanks to a huge offensive rebound by sophomore guard Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.) to keep the play alive, Emmanuel was able to make it a four point game after Marks connected on one of two free throws with 1:15 to play, making the score 65-61.

Senior forward Tori Brillaud (North Andover, Mass.) took advantage of an Emmanuel foul with 56 seconds remaining, draining both free throws in the bonus to pull the Rams back to within two points at 65-63 and it was Brillaud who came up with a clutch steal with 37 tics left in regulation to give Suffolk a chance to tie or go ahead. The Rams capitalized on the Emmanuel turnover as senior guard Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) sank a jumper to even the score at 65-65 with 30 seconds to play.

With three timeouts remaining, the Saints opted to let play continue and it almost cost them as A. Quadri came up with another big-time steal with 17 seconds to play. Out of timeouts, the Rams had no way of stopping the clock. I. Quadri attempted to get to the hoop another huge play by Marks forced a turnover with the ball ending up in the hands of Higgins who was immediately fouled.

Higgins connected on the front end of the bonus to give Emmanuel the 66-65 lead and after missing the second, a last second shot by the Rams from just inside midcourt hit the front rim.

In the opening stanza, the Rams controlled play early taking a 6-2 lead following a layup by A. Quadri. The Saints answered with an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the evening at 10-8 after junior guard Devin Rauh (Collegeville, Pa.) connected on a jumper at the 14:24 mark.

Suffolk responded with a 6-0 spurt with back-to-back threes from senior forward Shelby Santini (Winchester, Mass.) and I. Quadri to make it 14-10 and held the lead until Emmanuel freshman guard Karlee Alves (Ellington, Conn.) buried a jumper to pull the hosts back on top 20-19 with less than 10 minutes to play in the half.

The Rams regained the lead and a layup by sophomore forward Alexandra Clarke (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) with 6:44 to play in the first half made it a five point game at 27-22 before the Saints reeled off a 7-0 run, capped by a jumper by senior center Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) to put the score at 29-27, Saints.

Unfazed, Suffolk continued the chess match to take its largest lead of the half with 1:00 remaining following a Santini jumper to make it 35-29. Emmanuel was able to score on each of its last two possessions including a jumper at the halftime buzzer by sophomore forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y) to cut the Rams lead heading into the intermission to 35-33.

In the first half, both teams shot an impressive 5-for-7 from behind the arc but the Saints struggled from the floor otherwise, hitting just 8-of-33 (24.2%) on two-point field goal attempts, converting only one layup.

Alves paced the Saints with a team-high 15 points, with 12 coming in the opening stanza, to go along with a game-high five assists. Higgins added 13 points and seven rebounds while Chalk chipped in with 12 points.

I. Quadri topped all scorers with 16 points while Santini posted 15 points. A. Quadri was also in double-figures with 12 points while Brillaud registered a game-high 12 rebounds.

Emmanuel is now 26-1 all-time against the Rams and 7-0 in GNAC playoff meetings.

The Saints will now play host to Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM. The No. 3 Wildcats upset the second seeded Cadets of Norwich University, 74-65. During their regular season meeting, Emmanuel defeated JWU 65-44 on the road back on February 3.

(Story courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information)