Newton, MA- The Emmanuel College Saints produced a 67-35 victory over the Lasell College Lasers tonight in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball action. The Saints improved their overall record to 10-3, while the Lasers fell to 4-8 this season.
Emmanuel dictated the tempo of the game from the start, scoring just eleven seconds into the contest with a bucket from Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, CT) in the paint. The visiting Saints went up by seven before Lasell's senior forward Tricia Culver (Northampton, MA) got the Lasers on the board. Emmanuel widened the gap with a ten point lead by the ten minute mark of the first half.
Nevertheless, a determined Lasell caused the Saints to make 12 turnovers in the period, unfortunately, they struggled to capitalize on those opportunities. The teams were even in their field goal attempts in the first stanza; but it was Emmanuel who shot an impressive 48.1% from the field, while Lasell fell short of that percentage. Though Lasell's sophomore guard Victoria Elms (Glastonbury, CT) notched the final points of the half on a breakaway, the Lasers broke for intermission in a 31-14 deficit.
Emmanuel continued to pull away in the second half with a balanced offensive attack. The Lasers got into a flow in the second half and were able to increase their field goal percentage to 31% but it was not enough to close the gap. Emmanuel finished the game with a 67-35 triumph.
O'Dwyer and Iman Davis (Toms River, NJ) combined for 22 of the Saints total points. Kristin LeBel (Tolland, CT) also pitched in an additional eight points along with six rebounds for the visitors.
On the Lasers side, Kim Archibald (Lewiston, ME) came close to a double-double performance with a game-high 13 points, along with nine boards, six of which were on the offensive end. Culver added eight total points and five rebounds. Archibald and Brittany Jefferies (Gaffney, SC) each distributed three assists in the game.
Both teams stand at 1-1 in the conference at this time. The Lasers are back in action on Thursday, January 14th when they take on Framingham State College on their home court at 7:00 p.m. Emmanuel heads to Salem State College on the same day for a 6:00 p.m. game.