HOLYOKE, Mass.- Bay Path College falls 74-44 to New England Collegiate College (NECC) top ranked opponent Regis College today in the final regular season contest of the 2011-12 campaign. Both the Wildcats head coach Jill Shaw and the Pride's head coach Julie Plant managed to play both benches with junior Bay Path forward Kayla Skiffington (East Longmeadow, Mass.) topping all players with 18 points, eleven rebounds and six steals.
Regis took the early lead and jumped ahead 25-4 in the first ten minutes of play with senior guard Stephanie Crawford (Rockland, Mass.) nailing her third shot of the game. Junior guard Brittney Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) finally broke up the dry spell at 11:33 hitting a jumper. Skiffington would answer again at 9:33 with a lay-up inside on a back door pass by Alexander. Despite the offensive effort late in the first half Bay Path went into the locker room down 27 points.
Despite the huge run made by the Pride in the first half Bay Path managed to pick up their game in the second half and was only outscored 32-29 in the final twenty minutes of play. Regis controlled the game with their speed tallying 20 points off of fast break attempts. The Pride finished with a 50.8 field goal percentage to Bay Path's 37 percent.
Regis freshman guard Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) led the Pride with 15 points. Marro chipped in four assists and five rebounds. Three more starters finished with ten points including Crawford, sophomore guard Sabree Rodriguez (Brockton, Mass.) and sophomore forward Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine). Ramonas and Crawford also had five assists apiece.
Bay Path freshman Toni Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) tallied eight points, while sophomore forward Taylor Riley (Colchester, Vt.) added six points and five boards.
Coming off the bench, sophomore guard Mercedes Griffith (Malden, Mass.) added a spark finishing with five points, while first time starter Kristen Charette (Westfield, Mass.) hit her first collegiate basket.
Regis earns the top seed in the 2012 NECC Tournament and will have the bye in the first round and the honor to host women's tourney. They finish the regular season with a perfect 18-0 record and are 21-4 overall, while Bay Path is now 6-16 and finish league play at 6-12. The Wildcats finish tied at 7th with Southern Vermont because they neat the Mountaineers twice during the regular season they will earn the final seed in the tournament.