WESTON, Mass. – Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine) recorded her 1,000th career point and was one of four players in double-digits in scoring as Regis College picked up a 73-52 win over Becker College on Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball action in Weston, Mass.
The Pride have won three-straight and improve to 3-2 and 2-0 in the NECC on the year. Becker drops to 1-6 and 1-1 in league games.
Current NECC and ECAC New England Player of the Week Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) recorded her first double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and three steals in the win. NECC Rookie of the Week Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) netted a career-high 25 points and added nine rebounds for the Pride.
Regis scored on the opening tip as Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) corralled the loose ball and converted a layup only five seconds into the game. A minute later, Claire Ramonas put the Pride on top 4-0 with a layup and made it 999 career points.
Ramonas entered the record books on the next possession as she received an entry pass from Amanda Hawkesworth and hit a jumper from 10 feet out to become the 13th member of the Regis College 1,000 Point Club. Ramonas is the second Regis hoops player in the last week to reach the 1,000 point plateau as men's basketball senior Ryan Chambers did it last Tuesday.
When action resumed, Becker made it a 9-5 game on a jumper from Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) and after a bucket from Marro, Brooke Martel (Griswold, Conn.) cut the deficit to 11-7 with a jumper from the short corner. A Martel layup at the 13:53 mark left the Hawks only down three, but a 12-2 run from the Pride capped off by a triple from Mikayla Murphy (Attleboro, Mass.) gave Regis a 26-13 lead with just over 11 minutes to play.
The Pride lead would hover in double digits until Mojica went on a personal 5-0 run to make it a 34-29 game with just over four minutes to play, but the Pride ended the half scoring four of the last five points to take a 38-30 lead into the break.
Ramonas led the Pride at halftime with 10 points, while Emilee Marro and Janaya Bradley chipped in eight points apiece and Amanda Hawkesworth added nine of her own. Becker was paced by Tatiana Mojica's 15 points, while Brooke Martel scored nine points in the opening stanza.
Becker opened the second half with an 8-0 as back-to-back layups from Jacqueline Chila (Monroe, Conn.) capped the stretch and tied the score at 38-38. Hawkesworth answered with a jumper from the corner for the Pride, but Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) gave Becker its first lead of the game with a three from the left corner, to put Becker on top 41-40 with 17:27 to play. Bradley and Marro combined for a quick 6-0 spurt to give Regis the lead back at 46-41, but Brooke Martel kept it a one possession game with a jumper as Becker called a timeout trailing 46-43.
The Pride kept their run going as Marro, Mikayla Murphy, and Ramonas connected on three-straight buckets to push the lead to nine, and an and-one layup from Hawkesworth staked the home team to a 57-45 lead with 7:27 to play. A Martel three-point play at the 5:07 mark knifed the Regis lead to single-digits at 57-49, but a 10-0 run from Marro and Hawkesworth put the game out of reach as the Pride held off Becker for its second NECC win of the season.
Regis won the rebounding battle, 36-34, and committed only 16 turnovers to Becker's 21. The Pride dominated points in the paint 38-16, and shot an efficient 45.5% from the floor on the night. Becker ended the night connecting on 21-of-53 shots for a 39.6% field goal percentage. Regis did a lot of damage at the freethrow line, converting 20-of-29 freebies, while Becker hit 7-of-10.
Ramonas finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds, while also adding four assists, three steals, and a block. Janaya Bradley was the final player in double-figures for the Pride with 12 points. Mikayla Murphy added five points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists in the win.
Becker was paced by 17 points from Tatiana Mojica, while Brooke Martel added 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Haley Ooms just missed a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Chila ended the night with six points for the visitors.
Both teams are back in conference action on Saturday as the Pride travel to Southern Vermont College for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off, while Becker hosts Wheelock College at 1:00 p.m. as well.