BOSTON, Mass. (November 25, 2025) – Emerson College heads into the holiday break on a winning note after pulling away late to secure a 67-58 victory over Western New England University in a non-conference women's basketball matchup on Hank Smith Court at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium tonight.

Frongillo marked her return to the Lions with a game-high 19 points, including the 1000th of her career.

Senior preseason All-American Bri Frongillo and sophomore Jessie Silk paced Emerson to its second-straight win with a combined 35 points. Frongillo marked her season debut after completing an internship on the West Coast with 19 points off the bench, including the 1,000^th of her collegiate career, adding three assists and two rebounds. Silk posted her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. The duo also combined to convert 15-of-17 free-throws for the night.

Junior Kendra Dodd contributed 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point distance for the Lions, while classmate Claire English, the reigning NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week, chipped in eight points (4-for-4 FGs), five boards (four offensive), a career-high matching four assists and season-high matching three blocked shots.

Senior Hannah Blake helped lead Western New England with 18 points, converting all eight free-throw attempts, eight rebounds and two steals. Junior Sophie Hodge added 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals for the Golden Bears, while senior Perry Blasetti chipped in eight points and a team-best nine rebounds, with two assists and two steals.

Frongillo, the reigning NEWMAC Player of the Year, provided an instant spark for Emerson, converting a three-point play on her first touch after coming off the bench to knot the score less than four minutes into the game and then added a tying three-pointer less then two minutes later before finishing the opening quarter with eight points for a three-point Lions lead (18-15).

Emerson stretched that lead to four (33-29) at the half, behind seven points in the second quarter from Silk. Western New England regained the lead (36-35) after a layup from Blasetti off a Lions turnover 90-second into the third quarter. The lead see-sawed until a Silk three-pointer and layup from English gave Emerson a five-point advantage (47-42) with a minute remaining in the third.

Emerson carried a three-point edge (47-44) into the fourth, but Western New England pulled even twice over the first half of the final frame. The game was knotted at 51-51 after a Blake jumper in the paint with 4:37 to play, but the Golden Bears would not regain the lead. Dodd hit a clutch triple to give the Lions a six-point lead (58-52) with 2:10 left and then sophomore Lindsay Gould added another three for a seven-point cushion (61-54) with 49-seconds left. Silk and Frongillo did the rest at the free-throw line to seal the win down the stretch, with the latter's two free-throws with 17-seconds to play pushing her over the 1,000-point milestone.       

Noteworthy

• Frongillo finished the night with 1,001 points over her career, which includes 56 points scored as a first-year at Division I Bryant University before transferring to Emerson, where she has now scored 945 points in 45 games as a Lion.
• Frongillo scored in double-figures in her 16^th-straight game played dating back to last season, marking the 45^th double-figure scoring game of her collegiate career.
• Silk has recorded a double-double in five of Emerson's seven games this season, giving her seven over her career, as she scored in double-figures for the eighth-straight game (22^nd career) and reached double-digits in rebounds for the fifth time this year (seventh career).
• Dodd reached double figures for the second time this season (18^th career), draining three-plus three-pointers for the third time this year (20^th career).
• Emerson made 5-of-10 shots in the fourth quarter, converting 8-of-9 free-throws, to seal the win, while limiting Western New England to a combined 25.8% (8-31) in the second half, including 3-for-13 (23.1%) from three-point distance.
• WNE merely managed an 8-7 edge in second chance points despite pulling down 18 offensive boards and finishing with a 46-39 rebounding advantage over Emerson.

Up Next
Emerson (5-2, 0-0 NEWMAC) is off for over a week before returning to action across town in The Fenway to face Emmanuel College for a non-conference clash next Thursday, December 4, at 7 p.m. The Lions return to Boylston Street two days later to host Framingham State University on Hank Smith Court on Saturday, December 6, at 3:30 p.m. Western New England (4-3, 0-1 CNE) hosts the University of Hartford next Tuesday, December 2, at 5:30 p.m.

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