Photo by Ron Waite/Jahkima Cuencas
Posted: Jan 14, 2015
Despite a double-double from freshman Olivia Bolden (South Windsor, Conn.), the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team dropped a 64-52 decision to Emmanuel College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Wednesday evening in Boston.
The Saints, who have made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1986, have won the GNAC Tournament title 15 times, including a stretch that saw the Saints win the title seven-years in a row from 2007 until 2013. Last season, they were upset in the first round of the GNAC Tournament.
Tonight's win improved the Saints' overall record on the year to 6-8 on the year as they opened up GNAC play with the victory over the Falcons. The Falcons fall to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in the league with their fifth-straight loss.
Bolden finished the night with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.) tallied 12 points for the Falcons.
Chelsea Sherrod (Bridgeport, Conn.) added six points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Both teams struggled in the first half of play. The Saints hit just 11 shots in 35 attempts for a 31.4% showing from the floor. The Falcons shot just 29% from the field as they went 9-of-31.
The Falcons took an early 9-6 lead but back-to-back buckets by the Saints' Vanessa Bramante gave the host team a 10-9 lead midway through the first half.
A 16-2 run during the opening frame allowed the Saints to break out of a close contest early on. Pendagast helped the Falcons cut into the Saints' lead with a bucket in the final seconds of the half to send the teams into the break with a 30-23 lead.
Emmanuel controlled play in the second half and pushed its lead to as much as 18 points with 5:16 left to play in the contest.
No three pointers were made in tonight's contest as only eight shots were attempted from behind the arc.
The Falcons are now 2-18 all-time against the Saints and have not defeated Emmanuel since November 29, 1994. The Falcons have never defeated the Saints on the road.
Albertus will host Lasell College on Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. conference match-up in New Haven.
