Emerson Downs Wentworth, 57-49

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior forward Lauren Zaniboni (San Diego, Calif.) scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and recorded four blocks and freshman guard Jackie Williams (Lorton, Va.) had 13 points, four assists, and three steals as the Emerson College women's basketball team held off a late charge by Wentworth, winning 59-47 in a non-league contest at the Bobbi Brown/Steven Plofker Gym.

With the game tied at 3-all just 19 seconds into play, the host Lions would go on a 14-0 run over the next 7:32 and took a commanding 17-3 lead.  The momentum would swing in the Leopards' favor, though; as Wentworth used an 11-0 run of its own to cut the lead to three, capped off by a senior guard Michelle Moffo (Southington, Conn.) layup with 7:40 remaining.  Moffo and junior forward Kirsten Vallone (Avon, N.Y.) each had four points during the run, while freshman guard Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) had three.

Emerson went ahead, 19-14, on a basket by Williams before Vallone and senior guard Jessie Coffey (Wakefield, R.I.) scored consecutive baskets to trim the lead to just one with 3:59 left in the half.  Zaniboni hit one of two free throws to push the lead to two before Vallone scored the next three points, coming on one of two free throws to give Wentworth its only lead of the game (21-20) with 1:58 left.  A basket by freshman guard Olivia DiNucci (Pittsburgh, Pa.) with 30 ticks left in the half gave the Lions a 22-21 lead at the break.

Scoring the first seven points of the half, Emerson took a 29-21 lead with 17:20 left.  However, Vallone scored the next five points and cut the lead to 29-26.  Emerson senior guard Theresa McCabe (Rye, N.Y.) countered with five straight points of her own to push the lead back to eight.

Zaniboni eventually would convert a three-point play with 4:04 remaining to give the hosts a 46-37 lead, but a 7-0 Wentworth run whittled the lead down to just two with 2:21 left on a basket by Vallone.  Three free throws by DiNucci and a three pointer by McCabe upped the lead to eight with 1:11 left and the Lions would increase their lead to 11 late in the contest.

In addition to Zaniboni and Williams, DiNucci chipped in with 11 points as Emerson held the Leopards to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor.  Vallone led all scorers with 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

The win improves Emerson's record to 2-1 on the season and the Lions host Salve Regina Tuesday (Dec.1) at 7:30 p.m.  Wentworth dropped its third straight to stand at 2-3 heading into a game at Wellesley on Monday (Nov. 30) at 7:00 p.m.