Women’s Basketball playing in St. Thomas

The 2014-15 Emerson Women's Basketball Team. (Photo from Emerson Athletics)

The Emerson Women’s Basketball team has announced it will be traveling to one of the U.S. Virgin Islands next month to participate in the American International Sports Teams (AIST) St. Thomas Classic.

AIST has helped collegiate athletes compete in international tournaments in more than 22 countries since 2002, according to its website.

The trip to St. Thomas will be a first for the Emerson Lions. The team is excited not only for a trip to the beautiful region, but also to face some elite competition.

“I’m extremely excited about our trip to St. Thomas,” said Catherine Cloutier ’15, “not only because we get to play basketball on a beautiful island, but also because this is a huge milestone for the Emerson Athletics program.”

Maya Savino ’18 called the trip “an amazing opportunity.”

“We not only get to enjoy the island,” she said, “but we also get the experience of playing in a high-caliber tournament against teams we wouldn’t ordinarily face.”

The tournament is set for December 17–21 at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Lions will play Randolph-Macon College on December 18 and Virginia Wesleyan University on December 19.

“This is a great team-bonding trip,” said Bill Gould, head coach of Emerson Women’s Basketball, “and a great way to reward our athletes’ hard work. We take a trip every few years and want to make it a special experience.”

In addition to playing two competitive teams, the Emerson players will participate in sightseeing trips during their stay “to ensure this is an experience they always remember,” Gould said.

The Women’s Basketball team played its first two games of the season last weekend, November 15–16, winning its first game against Keuka College (final score 74–53), and losing the second game against the St. Catherine Wildcats (final score 59–47).

The Lions return to home court action this Wednesday, November 19, with a game against Fisher College at 7:00 pm in the Brown & Plofker Gym.