BOSTON, Mass. (taken from an Emmanuel College release)- The 14th-ranked Brandeis University women's basketball team dropped its second-straight game against a 2009 NCAA tournament team, falling to Emmanuel College, 78-67, in Boston. Emmanuel senior guard Iman Davis (Toms River, N.J.) dropped a game-high 25 points to go long with her 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals to lead the host Saints. With the win, Emmanuel remains undefeated at 5-0 on the year, while Brandeis falls to 5-2 overall.
The Saints jumped on top of the Judges early, posting a quick 8-0 advantage after several fast-break buckets. Brandeis fought back, overcame the deficit, and eventually took the lead at 21-19 on a three-pointer by sophomore Kelly Ethier (Springfield, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) with 7:42 on the clock. Two free throws by classmate Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) gave the Judges a four-point lead, 23-19, at 5:35 and this would be their largest lead of the game.
A jumper by Davis and a hoop in the paint by Pamela Mobley (Worcester, Mass.) knotted the contest at 28-all with 3:06 remaining in the half. A free throw by Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.), a jumper by senior center Meredith Shaw (Yarmouth, Me.) and a fastbreak layup by freshman forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) gave Emmanuel a five-point edge, 35-30, before sophomore Brighid Courtney (Southampton, Mass./Northampton) scored for the Judges to bring the contest to 35-32 at the break.
Emmanuel held on to the lead for the entire second half, stretching the margin to as many as 17 points (56-39) with 12:10 remaining in the game. The Saints' seventeen-point lead came after a 21-7 run which kicked off the second half for Emmanuel. During the stretch, the Saints received 9 points from junior guard Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) and 6 from Davis.
The Judges then went on a run of their own, scoring twelve unanswered points and cutting the deficit to five, 56-51, with 6:05 left to play. Brandeis got trifectas from Diana Cincotta (Plymouth, Mass./W. Boylston) and Carmela Breslin (McKees Rocks, Pa./Oakland Catholic) during the run.
During the last five minutes of play, the Saints knocked down 16 of their 19 free throw attempts and sealed the win at 78-67. Emmanuel finished the game at 23 of 28 from the line (82.1%). The Saints shot 44.8% (26-58) from the field to just 33.8% (22-65) by the Judges.
Brandeis had three players scoring in double figures. Breslin
led the Judges with a career-high 14 points in just 15 minutes of
play. Senior center Kasey Gieschen (Boonton
Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) added 12 points and 6 rebounds,
while Cincotta chipped in with 10 points. Courtney posted game- and
career-highs in rebounds and assists, with 13 and 8, respectively.
Senior guard Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye
Falls-Lima), who entered the game 16 points shy of 1,000 for her
career, was held to 7 points on 3 for 13 shooting.
Davis' 25 points led all scorers. LeBel finished with 15
points, while Shevlin added 10 points and 4 assists for the Saints.
Brandeis will next play on Saturday at Roger Williams University at 3 p.m.