Women’s Hoop Loses in GNAC Semifinal

BOSTON – Regis College was unable to overcome the strong performance by Emmanuel College on both ends of the court, as the top seeded Saints defeated the fourth seeded Pride, 84-60, Saturday afternoon in a semifinal game of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Andy Yosinoff Court.

Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) shot 7-for-15 from the field, including 5-for-8 from behind the three-point line, as she led all players with 22 points, 17 of them coming in the second half. Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) scored 14 of her 17 points in the first half, plus she collected five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) contributed 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Emmanuel (24-1) scored the first six points of the game and did not allow a Regis field goal until midway through the first quarter. A steal and layup as well as a three-pointer from Doherty brought the Pride within one at 10-9, but the Saints eventually extended their lead by scoring seven straight points in the last two minutes of the period, led by Caitlin Barker with two three-pointers.

The Saints put together a 10-1 scoring run to start the second quarter, punctuated by a three-pointer from Olivia Matela, who made a layup later in the period to extend Emmanuel's lead to 42-17. Regis did score the final six points of the first half to close its deficit to 46-27 at halftime.

Yannie Chan scored five straight points early in the third quarter as the Saints maintained their pressure, pulling ahead 63-37 after two three-pointers by Jamad Fiin. The home team scored the final 11 points of the third quarter, capped by a layup from Barker as time ran out, and established its largest lead of the day at 34 points on a basket by Desiree Robinson before a three-pointer by Gonzalez started a 14-4 Pride scoring run to finish the game.

Emmanuel received scoring from 12 different players, led by Matela with 14 points as well as Fiin and Chan with 12 points apiece. As a team, the Saints shot 53.1 percent (34-for-64) from the field, including 8-for-17 from behind the three-point line, and won the rebounding battle, 37-32, including 14 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second chance points.

The Pride shot 38.5 percent (20-for-52) from the field, including 7-for-14 from behind the three-point line, and 76.5 percent (13-for-17) from the free throw line.

Regis College concludes the 2021-22 campaign with a 13-9 overall record, finishing with a winning record for the 13^th time in the last 14 competition seasons.