BOSTON, Mass. - Junior Camryn Lewis (Taunton, Mass.) secured another double-double on Wednesday but the NEC women's basketball team fell short in the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs to the top seeded Saints of Emmanuel College.
Lewis scored 10 points – all in the second half – and brought down 10 rebounds to secure her 15th double-double of the season. Junior Bailey Burke (New Bedford, Mass.) had eight points and eight rebounds in a team-high 32 minutes. Senior Macy Gordon (Boscawen, N.H.) and junior Delvonna Newsome (Fresno, Calif.) each hit two triples for six points a-piece for the 'Grims.
After the Saints scored the first bucket of the game, Gordon sunk a three-pointer to give the eight-seeded Pilgrims an early lead. The Saints full-court pressure forced some turnovers to fuel a 9-0 run for the hosts. A deep three-pointer from Burke stopped the run, and the NEC defense forced some turnovers of their own as Emmanuel went almost four minutes without a point.
Emmanuel went on another quick run, 6-0, before Gordon made a full-court pass to senior Ajayah Lively (Victorville, Calif.) for an and-one with six seconds left in the first quarter. With the free throw, Lively cut the Saints lead to 17-9 after one.
Just as in their regular season matchup, the Saints used a big second quarter run to create some distance between them and the 'Grims. A Burke lay-up put an end to a 15-0 run as Burke would score the team's only three points of the quarter. NEC shot 28 perfect from distance in the first half but just 14 percent from inside the arc as they fell behind 32-12 at the half.
Lewis brushed off a slow first half, scoring the team's first six points after the break. She scored all 10 of her points in the third quarter as she began to find success in the paint. The Saints outscored the Pilgrims 18-13 in the third to hold onto a comfortable lead going into the fourth.
NEC would gain the slight advantage in the final frame, outscoring EC, 13-12. Newsome and Gordon connected on three consecutive three-point attempts midway through the quarter; the team shot 5-of-16 from deep while the Saints connected on 7-of-25 from long range.
Emmanuel, after going undefeated in conference play, shot 39 percent from the field. Tyra Blye led all scorers with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The Saints forced 30 Pilgrim turnovers to their 17 on the night. NEC won the rebounding battle, 50-42.
For the Pilgrims, their season comes to an end with a 16-10 record – their most wins in four years. On the other side, the postseason number one seeded Saints will now advance to the GNAC semifinals where they will face the winners of #4 Norwich and #5 Lasell.
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