HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College Women's Basketball team outscored Emmanuel College, 46-16, over the final two quarters to roll to a 79-43 non-conference victory over the visiting Saints at Oosting Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The Bantams improve to 5-0 overall, while Emmanuel dips to 3-2 on the season.
 
Trinity is off to their first 5-0 start since the 2018-19 season, where the Bantams opened the season with nine straight wins. Head Coach Maria Williamson is the first coach in program history to win her first five games behind the bench.
 
The Bantams had three scorers in double figures, led by a career-high 18 points from junior Melissa Whitmore. Whitmore connected on 4-of-6 three-pointers with a career-high eight assists and three rebounds. Sophomore Olivia Vick netted 16 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, and classmate Avery Marzo matched a career-high with 12 points and three assists.  Junior Samantha Slofkiss grabbed a game-high six rebounds with seven points, while junior Lucy Dorion logged four points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench.
 
The Saints were led by the trio of Kaila Saunders, Olivia Matela and Desiree Robinson with nine points apiece. Robinson added a game-high six rebounds, while Megan Reilly and Tyra Blye pulled down four rebounds each.
 
Whitmore knocked down three triples to help the Bantams to an 11-6 lead in the opening four minutes of play. The Saints trimmed the gap to three points, 13-10, at the 4:00 mark, but Trinity outpaced the Saints, 6-4, to close the quarter with a 19-14 lead.
 
Trailing 21-14 early in the second quarter, Emmanuel orchestrated a 9-2 run to knot the score at 23-23 with 4:26 to play in the first half. Tied 27-27 with 2:27 on the clock, the Bantams pulled off a 6-0 run behind buckets from Slofkiss and senior Hannah Marzo to hold a 33-27 advantage heading into the break.
 
The third quarter began the tidal wave of momentum for the Bantams as they opened the period with a 13-2 run, paced by nine points from Vick, to expand the lead to 46-29. Trinity used a three-point play from Avery Marzo and a three-pointer from Lillie Cumming to escort the advantage to 54-38 heading into the fourth.

"It was a great win to sum up the start of the season," said Williamson. "We got into a defensive battle and then we came out and executed what we needed to in the second half. We knew Emmanuel was going to play a lot of zone against us and we let them dictate the pace early, but in the second half we came out and exploited it. We just need to keep focusing on rebounding, especially on the offensive end, and finding ways to crash when we're not shooting well to generate those extra possessions. I think we're ready for Smith. It's a big game for so many reasons, and I'm excited for the team to step up to the moment. We've done a great job of building our identity so far, and we just need to come out and execute."
 
The Bantams dominated the fourth quarter to put the game away, outscoring the Saints, 25-5, beginning with a 13-4 run capped by a three-pointer from Whitmore to extend the lead to 67-42. The Trinity defense held Emmanuel scoreless over the final five-plus minutes while getting baskets from sophomore Kiki Fossbender, Dorion, junior Hannah Boone and first-year Fiona Neilon to wrap up the 79-43 victory.
 
The Bantams edged the Saints in the rebounding column, 31-25, and controlled the paint, 38-22. The Trinity bench outscored the Emmanuel backups, 25-12. The Bantams converted 31-of-58 (53.4%) from the field, including 8-of-18 (44.4%) from three-point range, and 9-of-12 (75%) from the foul line. The Saints shot 17-of-49 (34.7%) from the floor, 2-of-3 (66.7%) from beyond the arc, and 7-of-15 (46.7%) from the free throw stripe.
 
The Bantams will look to continue their winning ways when they welcome 14^th-ranked Smith College to Oosting Gymnasium on Sunday, December 1. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.