Basketball Turns Away Emerson, 54-49

Game Statistics

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Jan. 15, 2009) – Using a balanced scoring attack, the Mount Holyoke College women’s basketball team held on for a 54-49 triumph over non-conference foe Emerson College this evening at the Mildred Howard Gymnasium. With their seventh straight win over the Emerson, the Lyons snapped a five game slide.

Seven players scored points for Mount Holyoke, which shot 32.8% (19-58) from the floor and 73.7% (14-19) from the free throw line. The Lyons pulled down 15 offensive rebounds en route to a 46-30 edge on the glass. Senior guard Katie Austen led the way with 11 points and a career best 12 boards. It was her second consecutive double-double. Mount Holyoke also received a boost from first year guard Christine Chancy, who netted a team high 12 points. First year forward Tricia Chase chipped in with a season best nine points to go with eight rebounds.

Emerson was paced by sophomore center Lauren Zaniboni, who exploded for a game high 24 points off the bench. The center went 8-of-11 from the floor, collected eight rebounds and registered three blocked shots. Senior forward Lauren Vassallo added seven points and 11 boards for the guests, who converted 39.1% (18-46) of their attempts from the field.

After a slow start by both teams, Mount Holyoke erupted for a 14-1 run to gain control of the contest. Chancy netted nine points to key the rally, which spanned nearly six minutes. Her jumper at the 4:23 mark of the opening frame put the Lyons in front 24-9. Their 15 point cushion was their largest of the night.

Emerson closed the out the first half with a 7-2 spurt to slice the deficit to 26-16 at the break. Chancy led all scorers with 11 points at the intermission. Zaniboni had ten for the visitors.

Emerson picked off where it left off in the early stages of the second stanza, recording ten of the first 12 points. Sophomore forward Kathy Andrade converted layups on three consecutive possessions to trim Mount Holyoke’s lead to 28-26 with 16:27 remaining in regulation.

The Lyons responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to give themselves some breathing room. Chase converted a conventional three point play to highlight the rally. Their 41-31 edge at the 8:23 mark was their largest of the second half.

Emerson tallied six straight points in the waning minutes to make things interesting. A pair of free throws by Zaniboni cut the deficit to 49-47 at the 1:36 mark, but Mount Holyoke knocked down five of its eight freebies down the stretch to ice things.

Mount Holyoke (3-11, 0-2 NEWMAC) will resume its New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference slate at home versus Springfield College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Emerson (10-5, 2-0 GNAC) will also be back in action again on Saturday, hosting Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Johnson and Wales University.