BOSTON, Mass. – In a battle of the fifth and sixth ranked teams in conference play coming into the day, the New England College women's basketball team saw their five-game winning streak come to an end. The Pilgrims suffered their first loss in three weeks, falling 52-71 to the Saints of Emmanuel College on Wednesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Massachusetts in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.  

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 52, Emmanuel College 71 
Records: Pilgrims 13-11, 8-5 GNAC | Saints 12-11, 9-3 GNAC 

 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The two teams played each other close in a first-quarter the ended knotted up at 19-19. Junior guard Amya Moss (Norfolk, Va.) scored a quick seven points for NEC in the quarter, helping the 'Grims stay right there with the Saints despite a hot-shooting start from beyond-the-arc (4-of-6) from the hosts. 
• Emmanuel would begin to pull away in the second, holding the Pilgrims to just six points in the quarter. The Saints' three-point shooting cooled off, but the team went 7-of-11 inside the three-point line to create a nine-point lead going into halftime.  
• In the second half, Emmanuel would re-discover its range, shooting 5-of-6 from distance. NEC would get some offense going in the fourth, primarily from senior guard Alissia Corona (Wylie, Tex.) who scored eight points in the quarter, but it was too little, too late. Emmanuel outscored NEC 37-27 in the half and would go on to win the game, 71-52.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• The game's leading scorer was Emmanuel's senior guard Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) who put up 22 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Junior guard Paris Atuahene (Phoenix, Ariz.) added 16 points 
• Moss led the 'Grims in scoring on the evening with 13 points. Meanwhile, senior center Kathleen Rodriguez (McFarland, Calif.) collected another double-double, her ninth of the season, with 10 points and 14 rebounds.  
• Corona scored eight points, all in the fourth quarter, on 2-of-5 shooting from deep. Senior guard Juliana Hernandez (McFarland, Calif.) matched Corona with eight points of her own to go with five boards.
• Despite the loss, NEC outrebounded their opponents, 42-35, and shot well from the charity stripe, 10-of-11 (90.9%). But it was the three-point shooting that did them in, as Emmanuel shot 52.9 percent from three-point range, compared to just 23.5 percent for NEC. 

UP NEXT 

• Up next for NEC, the team heads to New Haven, Connecticut for the regular season finale against Albertus Magnus with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 PM. 
• Emmanuel visits Dean College on Thursday before closing out the regular season on Thursday at Anna Maria. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.