Camels Take One Of Two Basketball Games

The Connecticut College women's basketball team defeated Emerson College in a championship game on Sunday, while the men's team failed to place in the top three spots at another championship. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Women's Basketball: Conn College 66, Emerson 51

Tara Gabelman scored 22 points and hauled in 10 rebounds en route to a double-double and Carlee Smith added five points, seven assists and four rebounds as Connecticut College (2-0) cruised to a 66-51 victory against Emerson College (3-1) in the championship game of the Emerson College Tip-Off played in Boston Sunday.

Jenn Shinall chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds for the winning side. Jeanna Dunleavy added eight points and five rebounds in the victory.

The Camels held a 43-to-33 advantage on the backboards. You could call it a Boston three-party for the Camels, who converted 14-of-27 shots (52%) from long distance in the two games. Smith was honored as the tournament's Most Valuable Player for the Camels averaging 8.5 assists, 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in the two contests. Gabelman and Shinall were both named to the All-Invitational Team for Connecticut College.

Shinall is just 56 points away from reaching the 1,000 point barrier for the Camels.

The Camels carried a 26-19 lead at the break but that lead was trimmed to 30-26 after Olivia DiNucci knocked down a triple for the Lions with 16:56 remaining.

However, the Camels responded with a lethal 11-to-0 run after that to put the game away. Dunleavy scored the first four points during the stretch and Gabelman converted three consecutive field goals to make it a 41-26 game, capping the rally with 13:48 remaining.

DiNucci poured in a game-high 23 points for the hosts, converting 11-of-12 shots from the foul line. Olivia Connors and Kristin Brice scored eight points each in the setback for Emerson.

Men's Basketball: Fisher 70, Conn College 61

In the consolation game of the Roger Williams University Tournament on Sunday, Fisher College defeated Connecticut College 70-61 to take third place. Meanwhile, Babson College claimed the 2011 Courtyard by Marriott Tip-Off Championship with a 72-52 win over the Roger Williams University.

The Falcons were led All-Tournament Team selection Dennis Norford (New Haven, Conn.) with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals. Zachary Campbell (Cape Coral, Fla.) added nine points and seven assists, while Elijah Chisholm (Pittsfield, N.H.) had eight points and two steals.

Connecticut College's Jethro Anilus (Stamford, Conn.) led the Camels with 13 points off the bench, earning all-tournament honors. Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) had nine points and a pair of assists, while Bryan Gross (Great Falls, Va.) and Boris Jeremic (Rijeka, Croatia) each added seven points and four rebounds.

Fisher jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead, while the Camels did not get on the board until almost six minutes into the game. Connecticut College preserved and eventually took a 14-13 lead on a three-point play by Brian Mahoney (Quincy, Mass.). Connecticut College led by as many as eight (26-18) until the Falcons mounted a comeback of their own. Sam Nwadike (Houston, Tex.) gave Fisher the lead back on a pair of free throws with just over two minutes to play in the half (28-26).

In the second half, the game got away from Connecticut College early on, as Fisher turned a 31-30 halftime lead into a 45-32 advantage over the opening five minutes. Three-point shooting helped keep the Camels in the game, as they went 5-for-11 from downtown in the half. Connecticut College pulled to within two with 5:17 to play (51-53) but could never regain the lead.

Connecticut College hosts ECSU next Monday and Fisher goes to Westfield State on Tuesday.