Jan. 9, 2008

Medford, MA - The Emmanuel Women's Basketball Team took on the 17th ranked Jumbos of Tufts University on Wednesday night at Cousens Gym in Medford, MA. Tufts charged to a 23-5 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and sailed to a 78-61 victory over the Saints. The Jumbos remain undefeated and improved to 11-0 with this victory, while the Saints fell to 6-4 on the season.

The Saints were fresh off an exhibition tour of China over the winter break. Senior tri-captain Jade Paez (Bronx, NY) led the Saints with 16 points and four steals and sophomore Iman Davis (Toms River, NJ) scored 14 points and gathered six rebounds.

Tufts extended its first-half lead to 31-8 on a jumper by first-year point guard Colleen Hart (Needham, MA) with eight minutes to play in the opening stanza. The Jumbos led 43-20 at the break, with Khalilah Ummah (Litchfield, ME) scoring 10 points. The hosts shot 51.4 percent (19/37) in the first 20 minutes and out-rebounded the Saints 36-11. Emmanuel hit just 7 of 32 shots (21.9%) in the first half.

The game evened off in the second half, with the Saints out-scoring the Jumbos, 41-35. The Jumbo lead was in the 20's until late in the half when a free throw by Jacque Pannell (Bloomfield, CT) pulled the Saints to 71-52 with 2:36 to play. A Pannell lay-up in the final minute made the score 76-61, the closest the Saints had come since the 10-minute mark in the first half.

Off to the best start in school history, Tufts was victorious despite turning the ball over 30 times, including 18 in the first half. They finished with a huge 66-37 advantage in rebounds, with a game-high 18 by Julia Baily (Farmington, CT). The Jumbos' 48.6% shooting (35/72) was their second-best mark of the season. Their 19 assists tied a season-high, with five coming from Hart and five from sophomore Vanessa Miller (Cincinnati, OH).

Paez hit four three-pointers to lead Emmanuel's offensive attack. The Saints earned a 15-6 scoring advantage at the free throw stripe, with Davis converting all four of her freebies. The Saints finished with 16 steals, but shot just 28% (21/75) from the floor.

Emmanuel will host the Eagles of Daniel Webster College on Saturday (1/12). This is the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener for both teams. The GNAC match-up is scheduled to tip-off at 1pm in the Gymnasium of the Jean Yawkey Center.