Basketball Season Ends

BOSTON, Mass. – The top-seeded Emmanuel College Saints defeated No. 8 University of Saint Joseph 74-60 in the quarterfinal round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Tuesday night.

Saint Joseph ends its season 14-11. Emmanuel improved to 21-5 and will advance to host a GNAC semifinal game Thursday night.

Junior forward Mary Hyde (Derby, Conn.) led Saint Joseph with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Devon Diliberto (Waterbury, Conn.) scored 15 for USJ including four three-pointers. Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) had 10 points and six rebounds for the Blue Jays and Claire Consonni (Bristol, Conn.) scored nine.

The Blue Jays flew out to their only lead at 6-4 when Hyde made a three-pointer with 2:04 gone. Emmanuel scored the next six points before Diliberto hit a deep three-pointer to pull USJ within 10-9 just past the five-minute mark. Five unanswered points put Emmanuel up 15-9 and the gap grew slowly until the Saints led 27-15 with 4:26 left in the half. But USJ did not go quietly and Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) hit a jumper with 26 seconds left in the half to bring the Blue Jays within 35-28 at the break.

Emmanuel's senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) dominated the second half and keyed the Saints' strong finish. She had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the second half and finished with 21 and 12 for the game. An O'Dwyer layup with 7:30 to play gave Emmanuel its biggest lead of the night at 58-38.

Emmanuel will host No. 5 Albertus Magnus in Thursday's 7 p.m. semifinal. Albertus upset No. 4 Rivier, 75-67 Tuesday. 

Saint Joseph reached the GNAC tournament for the second time in three years, having lost to Emmanuel in a 2011 GNAC semifinal. The Blue Jays finished with a winning record for the third consecutive season, the first time that has happened in 15 years. USJ is 47-28 in the past three seasons.