Boston, Mass- Emmanuel's women's basketball team downed the Lasers in a 76-54 GNAC victory on Saturday at the Jean Yawkey Center. The conference leading Saints are 16-8 overall and 9-1 in the GNAC, while the Lasers are 7-16 on the season and 4-6 in conference play, with one week left in the regular season.
Emmanuel got on track from the start, opening with an 11-2 run, aided by two three pointers by sophomore guard Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.). Lasell struggled to connect with the hoop in the early stages, shooting just 24.3% in the initial frame. However, the Lasers began to chip away at the Saints lead with a long shot from Katie Schumitz (Milford, Conn.) 12:00, which kicked off a run bring Lasell within five, 15-10. Unfortunately for Lasell, the Saints responded with a 14-4 stretch, to head into the half 42-24.
Coming out of the locker rooms in the second, the teams swapped baskets through the beginning minutes. After Tricia Culver (North Hampton, Mass.) connected on a jumper in the paint at 14:41, the Saints took off on another run, widening the Laser's hole to 26 points, at 59-33, with over ten minutes remaining. Emmanuel held over a twenty point edge for the remainder of the contest, finishing with a 76-54 victory.
Senior captain and guard Shauna Kelly (Quincy, Mass.) was the high-scorer for Lasell with 15 points, including seven free throws. Culver shot 50% from the field, and completed 11 points, and sophomore point guard Katie Farr (Rindge, NH) had four assists and 6 points in the effort.
The Saints came away with a 48-33 rebounding margin. Despite committing 19 turnovers offensively, the Saints running game helped Emmanuel to score 20 points off of fastbreak buckets. Emmanuel's defense forced Lasell to shoot just 31.6% (18-57) form the field on the day.
Lasell is back in action on Tuesday, when they host the Cadets of Norwich University in a 6pm start. Tuesday's game also marks Senior Night for Kelly and Schumitz as their final home contest, and is also the Lasers' Pink Zone game benefitting Breast Cancer research.