WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's basketball team opened up with an 8-0 start and never looked back, cruising to a 62-47 win over visiting Newbury College in New England Collegiate Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Higgins Court in Weston. The Pride grabbed their 12th straight win and improve to 18-4, 15-0 NECC, while the Nighthawks dropped to 4-16, 4-10 in league play.
The Pride were led by junior guard Emilee Marro's (Bedford, N.H.) game-high 17 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) was not far behind with 13 points and nine rebounds. Marro and Bradley each shot 6-for-13 from the field.
Sophomore Alex Pezzella (Rockland, Mass.) hit a three-pointer for the Nighthawks at the 15:47 mark to get her team on the scoreboard for the first time on the night. After trading baskets over the next few possessions, the Pride once again added to their lead after going on a quick 13-3 run, capped by a Marro trey, to take a 28-12 advantage with just over eight minutes to play in the stanza.
Newbury's Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) would score 10 of her 12 first-half points in the final nine minutes of the period, as the Nighthawks headed into the locker room trailing, 38-21. Marro and Bradley combined for 21 first-half points alone to match Newbury's total offensive effort in the opening 20 minutes.
The second half saw the Nighthawks shoot an impressive 50% from the field (12-for-24) versus the Pride's 38.5% (10-for-26).
Regis and Newbury traded eight points apiece through the first five minutes of the second half to keep the margin at 17 points in favor of the home team.
Freshman guard Janetis Cardona (Southbridge, Mass.) scored nine straight points for her team to help the Nighthawks chip away and cut the lead to as few as 14 points by the 8:08 mark. Marro was able to respond and knock down back-to-back layups, however, and senior Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine) hit a free throw, to extend the lead to 19 points.
Cardona, who finished with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting, once again helped her team get to within 14 points with time winding down after consecutive jump shots, but that was as close as Newbury would get as the Pride hung on for the 62-47 win.
Haney led the Nighthawks with 16 points and five boards, while Claudia LeConte (Framingham, Mass.) had six points and six rebounds.
Sophomore forward Bianca Batallas (Baldwinville, Mass.) chipped in with five points and 10 rebounds for Regis, while Ramonas had 10 points and six rebounds.
Next up for the Pride is Daniel Webster, who will make the trip to Weston for a 6:00 p.m. game on Wednesday. The Nighthawks will welcome Mitchell College at 7:00 p.m., also on Wednesday.