BOSTON, Mass. (February 21, 2026) – Emerson College erased a seven-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to close out the regular season with a 67-61 victory over Springfield College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball matchup on Hank Smith Court at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium this afternoon.

Emerson (14-11, 5-6 NEWMAC) finishes in a tie for seventh in the final Conference standings but will be the No. 8 seed for the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament with Coast Guard Academy earning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions. Emerson will travel to top-seeded and NEWMAC regular season champions Smith College (24-1, 11-0 NEWMAC) for a quarterfinal round matchup on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Springfield (15-10, 6-5 NEWMAC) is seeded fifth for the NEWMAC Tournament and will visit fourth-seeded MIT (14-11, 8-3 NEWMAC) for their quarterfinal round clash on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Senior Bri Frongillo and sophomore Jessie Silk led the way for Emerson which finished the year with an 8-3 record at home. Frongillo netted a team-high 16 points with three rebounds and three assists, while Silk posted her team-leading eighth double-double of the season (10^th career) with 13 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with three minutes to play, and a game-high 12 rebounds with two assists and a blocked shot.

Jessie Silk posted her eighth double-double of the season, draining the go-ahead three-pointer, this afternoon (PHOTO BY Nancy Gonzalez)

Junior Claire English added 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting for Emerson with six boards, while sophomore Lindsay Gould contributed ten points.

Junior Claire Finney scored a game-high 20 points off the bench to lead Springfield on 8-of-14 shooting with two assists, while senior Carrie Hess added 14 points off the Pride bench with five rebounds. Junior Natalie Lucas chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and two assists for the Pride.

Springfield wrapped a 17-4 run between the third and fourth quarters for its largest lead of the afternoon (58-51) after a three-point play from Finney midway through the fourth. Emerson's lead was six (47-41) after a basket from junior Elise Arnold with 1:23 remaining in the third.

Springfield outscored the Lions 12-1 over the next four minutes – the first six points of the run from Finney, to take a five-point lead (53-48) after a layup from sophomore Madison Lopez less than three minutes into the fourth. Emerson missed its first six shots from the floor in the final frame and eight-straight overall, before Gould broke the drought with a jumper with under six minutes to play.

Springfield extended its lead to seven (58-51) when Finney followed the Gould basket with a three-point play, but Emerson rallied with a game-deciding 14-0 run. The Lions buried four-straight three-pointers to start the run with Silk canning a pair including the go-ahead triple with 3:15 to play. Frongillo followed that with a three with 39-seconds remaining to stretch the Emerson lead to five (63-58) and then she and English converted at the free-throw line to seal the win.

Noteworthy

• Emerson has qualified for the NEWMAC Tournament for the second-straight year.
• Emerson and Springfield each turned the ball over just seven times in the contest, with the Lions holding an 11-7 edge in points off.
• Despite needing the fourth quarter rally, Emerson held the lead for 31:17 in the contest.
• Silk's tenth career double-double marks the 14^th time this season she has led Emerson in rebounding, collecting double-digit rebounds for the tenth time this season (12^th career). She also scored in double figures for the 18^th game this year (33^rd career).
• Frongillo, who became the program's all-time leading scorer at Clark on Wednesday (1,288 points), posted her 60^th career double-figure scoring game (16^th this year).
• English has scored in double figures 11 times this season (21^st career), while Gould has scored in double digits for the tenth time.
• English made her 50^th career start for Emerson today.

Up Next
Emerson (14-11, 5-6 NEWMAC) opens postseason play on Wednesday when it visits top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Smith College for a NEWMAC Quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Springfield (15-10, 6-5 NEWMAC) visits MIT for their NEWMAC Quarterfinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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