Dec. 10, 2011

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - The Colby College women's basketball team used a strong second half shooting performance to overcome a three-point halftime deficit and defeat Emmanuel College, 56-53, Saturday afternoon in non-conference play at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. With the victory, the Mules improve to 6-1 over all on the year while the loss drops the Saints to 5-3.

Emmanuel was able to build up a 21-18 lead by the half, holding Colby to just 22.2% shooting from the floor in the opening stanza but the Mules came out strong in the second half, quickly tying the contest at 23-23 following an old-fashion three point play by senior guard Aarika Ritchie (Lee, Maine). The squads would continue to trade hoops until a three-ball by junior guard Jacky McLaughlin (Medfield, Mass.) gave the visitors their first lead of the afternoon, pulling ahead 28-27 with just over 14 minutes left in the contest.

The Saints would score two of the next three buckets, capped by a layup by freshman forward Lena Negri(Lancaster, Va.) to give EC a 31-30 edge but a three point field goal by junior guard Diana Manduca (Portland, Maine) with 12 minutes remaining in the game would pull Colby ahead, 33-31, and they would never relinquish the lead.

Emmanuel was able to tie the contest at 37-37 after a Negri jumper found the back of the net, but the Mules would respond with an immediate 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 45-37 with 6:21 left in the action.

Trailing by nine (52-43) with 2:40 to play, Emmanuel made things interesting reeling off a 7-0 spurt to pull within a basket, trailing 52-50 with 0:27 second left in regulation but Manduca would seal the win for the Mules, connecting on her final four attempts from the charity stripe to help Colby prevail, 56-53.

In the first half, Emmanuel came out of the gates on fire, opening up an 8-0 lead over the first three minutes of action before the Mules found the scoreboard at the 16:45 mark of the opening stanza. After the initial run, Colby was able to hold the Saints to just two points over the next five minutes of action, pulling within a point at 10-9 to set the tone for the remainder of the half. With a little more than six minutes left in the half, a three by senior guard Breanna Ockimey(Philadelphia, Pa.) gave EC a 17-9 lead, matching its largest of the game before the Mules closed out the half on a 9-4 run to account for the 21-18 halftime score.

For Colby, Ritchie ended the afternoon with a team-high 11 points while Manduca chipped in with 10. Manduca added nine points while senior forward Rachel Mack was one point and rebound shy of a double-double, recording nine boards and nine points in the win. Also just shy of a double-double was senior forward Jil Vaughan, posted a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.

Junior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) paced the Saints offensive attack, netting a game-high 18 points with 16 coming in the second half of play. Senior guard Meghan Kirwan(Melrose, Mass.) pitched in with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Negri ended the afternoon with nine points.

Emmanuel will return to action on Tuesday, December 13 in its final contest of the semester when they host Endicott College at 5:30 PM while Colby is now idle until January 2 when they host Bates at 7:00 PM.