BOSTON, Mass. – Junior guard Olivia DiNucci (Pittsburgh, Pa.) poured in 31 of her game-high 33 points in the second half as the Emerson women's basketball team used a 21-3 run early in the second stanza to post a 73-51, non-league win over Wentworth in a non-conference game played at Tansey Gymnasium.
The opening portion of the first half saw five ties and a pair of lead changes as neither team held more than a two-point lead. The Leopards held a 10-8 lead with 10:45 left in the half on a sophomore forward Ashley Stowe (Voluntown, Conn.) jumper, but the Lions countered with a 9-0 run over the next three and a half minutes and took a 19-10 lead on a basket by sophomore forward Olivia Connors (Windham, N.H.) with 7:14 to play. Back-to-back three pointers by sophomore guard Danielle Miranda (Westbrook, Maine) and junior forward Morgan Furman (Falmouth, Maine) cut the lead to three, but a three-point play by freshman forward Kristin Brice (Indiana, Pa.) with 5:52 left pushed the Emerson lead to six.
A Furman basket and a three-pointer from junior guard Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) pulled Wentworth within one at 22-21 before a junior guard Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) basket gave the hosts a 23-22 lead with 3:29 left. The lead would change hands three more times before the end of the half and the visitors would take a 28-27 lead into the locker room.
Emerson scored the first five points of the second half and took a 33-27 lead with 19:07 remaining. Wentworth countered with an 8-0 run as Conway converted a three-point play and buried a three pointer, while sophomore guard Paige Newcomb (Topsfield, Mass.) hit a jumper that gave the Leopards a 35-33 lead with 16:49 left.
The Lions went on a 21-3 run over the next 6:44 – with DiNucci scoring nine of those points – to take a 54-38 lead, a lead which would be extended to as many as 24 on two occasions.
DiNucci shot 11-for-15 from the floor – including going 3-for-6 from behind the arc – and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, to go along with nine rebounds. Connors had 12 points and 11 rebounds, while junior guard Shannon Norton (Middletown, N.J.) chipped in with a dozen points of her own. Emerson shot 50 percent from the floor over the final 20:00 and held a 42-31 rebounding edge for the game.
Conway led the Leopards with 13 points, while sophomore forward Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) added 11 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Miranda had eight assists on the night.
With the win the Lions improve to 2-0 and will host MIT as a part of the Emerson Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday at 1:00. Wentworth falls to 0-2 and hosts Suffolk on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
