Box Score WALTHAM, Mass.- The Emmanuel College Saints (No. 16 in the nation by D3hoops.com and No. 17 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association) topped Brandeis University, 62-46, at Red Auerbach Arena in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday evening. Despite a team-high 10 points off the bench for sophomore guard Mikaela Garvin (Providence, R.I./ Hope), the Judges could not erase a 19 point deficit at the break and fell to 2-3 on the year while the Saints improve to 4-0.
In the first half, sophomore guard Hannah Cain (Gloucester, Mass./ Gloucester) scored the first basket of the game with a mid-range jumper but Emmanuel reeled off a 16-4 run to take control of the game. Brandeis was able to keep the deficit at 10 after a pair of free throws from Garvin to make it 24-14 with 3:51 remaining in the period. Unfortunately, the Saints went on a 9-0 spurt to close out the half and take a commanding 33-14 lead into the break. Although the Judges shot 8 for 10 from the line, they were 3 for 25 from the field, including 0 for 4 from 3-point range, as they dug themselves a hole.
In the second half, Emmanuel opened the period with excellent shooting, taking their largest lead of the contest at the 10:54 mark when junior guard Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass./ Saint Mary's) scored from downtown to give the visitors a 48-21 advantage. In the following two minutes of play, Brandeis went on an 8-2 run capped by an old fashioned three point play from Cain to make it 50-29 with 8:51 left in the game. The Judges would go on to outscore the Saints 17-12 the rest of the way for a final tally of 62-46.
Garvin led Brandeis with 10 points, all from the charity stripe, while senior forward Erika Higginbottom (Millbury, Mass./ Worcester Acad.) and junior guard Kasey Dean (Southbury, Conn./ Pomperaug) each contributed nine. Cain also chipped in with seven points to go two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Dean led the squad with eight rebounds and senior forward Angela Miller (Sicklerville, N.J./ Timber Creek) grabbed seven caroms off the bench. Higginbottom and rookie forward Ceara McNamara (Amherst, N.H./ Southegan) shared team-high honors with two blocks each. Finally, Higginbottom shared team-high honors in steals with Dean and junior guard Julia Scanlon (Long Valley, N.J./ West Morris) as each had player two apiece.
For the Saints, senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn./ Stamford) led the way with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Junior forward Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass./ Sharon) nearly joined her with 12 points and eight rebounds while senior forward Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J./ Immaculate Heart Acad.) chipped in nine points. Benvenuto also led the squad with four assists and three steals as O'Dwyer earned another team-high honor with three blocks.
The Judges continue their season on Saturday December 1st at Daniel Webster with a 1:00 p.m. tip off. Emmanuel travels to Rhode Island College on Thursday November 29th for a 5:30 p.m. for a re-match of the squad's 2012 NCAA tourney second round meeting in which the Saints topped the Anchorwomen, 57-52.
*Release courtesy of Brandeis Univ. Sports Information Dept.
