Emmanuel Turns Up Heat In Second Half to Take 86-67 Win

Nashua, NH – The Rivier College Raiders shot the lights out in the first half of today's women's basketball game against GNAC powerhouse Emmanuel College to take a 37-36 lead into the locker room at halftime, but a well oiled machine in Emmanuel came out and pressed the Raiders into making 12 second half turnovers and ended up with a 19 point victory, 86-67.

The Raiders shot 50% from the floor and 44% from the 3-point line, going 4-9 from behind the arc, to keep themselves in a close first half of basketball. All four triples came from different players with none bigger than Lauren Brett's (Otisfield, MA) final 3 pointer just before the buzzer to end the half. The Emmanuel squad knew something would have to change in the second half in order to pull away, and Head Coach Andy Yosinoff had just the game plan to get it done.

Emmanuel pressed for the entire second half, causing some confusion with the Raiders as quick double teams came from nowhere to trap the ball and cause turnovers. Then, when the Raiders did get the ball down the court, the Saints went to a straight man-man coverage with nobody pulling off their assignment to help on defense, causing the Raiders to try to beat the Saints off the dribble. The result was a poor 25% shooting from the floor in the second half by the Raiders, who were forced to throw up a number of off balance shots to beat the shot clock.

Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, MA) led the Saints with 25 points on the day. The 5'9 junior guard went 7 for 9 from the floor and got to the free throw line 15 times, converting on 11 shots. Kirwan also pulled down a game high 12 rebounds and had 4 assists and 3 steals. Teammate Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, CT) was just behind Kirwan with 23 points and 7 rebounds while Casey Shevlin (Medford, NY) had a team high 5 assists.

Amandra Purcell (Hudson, NH) and Britney Lane (Waterford, VT) each scored 14 for the Raiders, leading the team in 3-pointers with 2 each. Senior Steph Adams (Nashua, NH) added 8 points and 6 rebounds while Stacey Laine (Hudson, NH) grabbed 7 rebounds and Sarah Howard (W. Greenwich, RI) chipped in with 10 points.

Rivier will travel to GNAC foe Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI on Saturday, January 22nd for a 1:00 PM start. The Saints will travel to Norwich University on the same day for their own GNAC match-up.