Box Score 

BOSTON - Iman Davis scored a game-high 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out a game-best eight assists as the Emmanuel College women's basketball team defeated Norwich University, 75-61, to capture the 2010 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament championship Saturday afternoon at the Jean-Yawkey Center.

The victory, which gives Emmanuel its fourth straight conference tournament title, also ensures that the Saints (22-5) will be back in the NCAA Tournament. The Cadets (20-7) will have to wait to find out if they are selected to either the NCAA Tournament or the ECAC Tournament.

Kristin LeBel added 13 points for the Saints, while Casey Shevlin and Fiona O'Dwyer scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Junior F Christine Daniels shot 8-of-13 from the floor and led Cadets with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. Senior F Jess Jaggars posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds Norwich, while senior G Erica Rate chipped in 14 points. Senior G Natalie Marchese played a solid all-around game, finishing with 12 points and a team-high five assists.

Five quick points by Davis helped Emmanuel jump out to an 11-4 lead just four minutes into the contest. An old-fashioned three-point play by Jaggars and a triple by Rate helped pull the Cadets to within one point (11-10) less than a minute later.

Emmanuel's Breanna Ockimey and Rate then exchanged three-pointers to make it 14-13 in favor of the Saints with 14:27 to play in the first half. Another triple by Ockimey kick-started a 5-0 spurt by Emmanuel that gave the hosts a 19-13 edge. The Cadets responded with an 8-2 run over a span of four minutes to tie the score at 21-all with 9:46 to play before halftime. A trey by senior G Ally Daniels capped the scoring burst and sent the NU contingent of fans that made the trek to Boston into a frenzy.

Two lay-ups by Davis and one by Shevlin gave the Saints a 27-21 lead with under seven minutes to play in the half. A fast-break lay-up by O'Dwyer and a three-ball by LeBel capped a 13-2 Emmanuel run and forced a Norwich timeout, as the Saints opened up a 34-23 advantage with 4:23 on the first half clock.

Jaggars hit a jumper and Marchese put one in on the break to cut the Cadets' deficit to 34-27 with less than two minutes to go in the half, but a jumper by EC's Jade Santos and a free throw from Jaggars at the other end brought the score to 36-28 at the intermission.

Davis led all scorers at halftime with 11 points. Rate led the Cadets with 10 points, while Jaggars added six points and 12 rebounds in the frame. The Saints' defense forced Norwich into 18 turnovers during the first 20 minutes.

Davis opened the second half with a bucket in the paint to give Emmanuel a double-digit cushion.  Shevlin then connected on a baseline three-pointer to put the Saints on top, 42-30, with 16 minutes to play.

Two jumpers by Christine Daniels and a runner in the lane by Marchese accounted for the Cadets' points during the first five minutes of the second frame. Consecutive hoops by Rate and another by Christine Daniels forced an Emmanuel timeout with Saints holding onto a 45-38 lead.

Ockimey hit her third triple of the game to bring the spread back into double figures (48-38) with 12:30 to go, but back-to-back hoops by Norwich pulled the Cadets to within 48-42 and forced Emmanuel to call another timeout.

A big three-pointer from the top of the key by Shevlin helped fuel an 8-0 run by EC that extended the Saints' lead to 56-42 at the 8:25 mark. A 10-4 spurt by Norwich pulled the Cadets to within eight points (60-52) with 6:47 to play, but that was as close as the visitors would get.

Emmanuel took off on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to open up its largest lead of the afternoon (72-54), and the Saints maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way to secure the championship victory.

EC scored 27 points off of 28 NU turnovers. The Saints also cashed in 14 fast-break points in the contest.

Davis was named the GNAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player, while LeBel and Shevlin received All-Tournament Team honors for the Saints. Rate and Jaggars represented Norwich on the All-Tournament Team, while Albertus Magnus' Bianca Brown and Simmons' Julianna Eagles rounded out the all-tourney team.