Saints Freeze 5th-Ranked Polar Bears
January 09, 2010
The 23rd-ranked Emmanuel College women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit to upset fifth-ranked Bowdoin College at Morrell Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, 61-53. The Saints (9-3) dealt the Polar Bears (10-1) their first loss of the season by outscoring the hosts 37-19 in the second half en route to the upset victory.
Bowdoin led 34-24 at intermission thanks to 12 points from Leah Rubega in a 14-5 run over the final five minutes of the opening period. The Polar Bears were able to push the lead to a dozen points early in the second half, 40-28, after a pair of free throws from Katie Bergeron with 17:30 to go.
Emmanuel chipped away at the Bowdoin lead, cutting it to five, 42-37, with 12:30 left on a jumper from junior guard Kristin LeBel. Another jumper from Lebel and a three-pointer from classmate Casey Shelvin trimmed the lead to a single point with 11 minutes on the clock.
Finally, after trading buckets for over six minutes, the Saints took the lead on a hoop-and-harm by Shelvin to claim a 52-51 advantage with 4:45 to go. The Polar Bears went ice cold and did not hit a shot from the field in the final 6:30 and Lebel's second three-pointer of the half gave the Saints the lead for good with 2:30 to play.
Emmanuel connected on five free throws down the stretch to seal the victory and went 18-32 from the charity stripe for the contest. The Saints also held a 45-34 advantage on the boards, including 16 offensive caroms.
Lebel finished with a game-high 19 points while freshman forward Fiona O'Dwyer sparked the visitors with a 14-point, 14-rebound performance. Shelvin also saw double digits with 12 points.
Rubega was the lone player in double figures for Bowdoin, netting 16 points and 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the campaign. Amy Hackett and Caitlin Hynes each had nine points for the Polar Bears.
Emmanuel entered the contest coming off of two-straight losses, including the program's first-ever regular season conference loss in the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints played an incredible schedule this week, facing three top-twenty teams in 8 days. The Saints went 2-1 against the nationally-ranked programs over the past week.
Emmanuel will return to action on Tuesday night at Lasell College. The Saints are slated to take on the Lasers in an 8pm start.
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