WESTON, Mass. – Led by four players scoring in double figures, the Regis College women's basketball team held on for a 59-51 win over New England Collegiate Conference rival Mitchell College on Thursday night at Higgins Court. With the victory, the Pride improve to 12-4, 10-0 NECC and with the loss the Mariners fall to 5-10, 5-4 NECC.
Regis extends its regular season NECC winning-streak to 64 games while Mitchell's four game winning-streak was snapped with the defeat.
The Pride started off the contest with a small 10-4 run during the game's first five minutes of play. Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) opened the scoring by making a layup from under the hoop assisted by Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) A few possessions later, Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.) committed a theft and set up a Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) jump shot from the elbow that improved the Pride advantage to 5-2. After a missed three-ball by Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Conn.), Regis set up their offense and found Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) for a three point attempt. Her shot missed the mark, but Stone gobbled up the rebound and put the ball back into the basket as the Pride lead grew to five points. The Mariners responded with an Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) layup, before Bradley knocked down a free-throw for the Pride and Marro converted on a fast break layup to end the Regis run.
The teams continued trading buckets throughout the first half of play as the Crimson and Gold had their lead cut to two points at the 9:41 mark after Dazjavia Williams (Waterbury, Conn.) made a break down the floor after an Alyssa Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) turnover, Williams then laid a shot up and in that cut the Regis lead to 14-12.
Since the Mariners cut the lead back to two points, the Pride decided to respond by going on a 12-4 run growing their advantage to 26-16, their largest lead of the first half. Regis' run was capped off when Mariner freshman guard Ashleigh Beauford (Newington, Conn.) had the ball swiped away in the paint by Emilee Marro, Marro then found her outlet, Janaya Bradley who raced down the floor in a one-on-one opportunity and pulled up and made a jumper from inside the paint.
Mitchell wouldn't go down without a fight as they scored the last five points during the final 70 seconds of the half. The key play was a Jessica Shepherd three point play that pulled the Mariners within five at the break.
Regis opened up the second half of play using a 9-2 run to give the Crimson and Gold a 12 point, 35-23 lead, their largest lead of the contest. During the run, The Pride used the three-ball, knocking down three-of-four three point attempts. Emilee Marro made two of the triples and Teresa Busiek made one three pointer.
The Mariners responded over the next four minutes with an 11-1 run of their own to cut the Pride lead to two points, 38-36 with 12:04 left in the game. Amanda Garcia was a key part of the run for Mitchell as she scored six points including layup to cut the lead to three. The Pride advantage was cut to two after Dazjavia Williams split both free throws from the charity stripe.
Both teams continued trading buckets over the next six minutes of play, as the Mariners kept themselves alive in the contest as the lead was cut back to two points twice during the six minutes span, thanks to Jessica Shepherd who scored seven points. Mitchell couldn't get over the hump and couldn't gain the lead in the waning minutes of the game.
The Pride shot 27.3% for the game, their lowest shooting percentage in a game from the field since December 31 in a 43-42 setback to Anna Maria at the Keene State Holiday Tournament. Mitchell shot 40.4% including a 52.2% mark during the second half.
The Crimson and Gold had multiple player score in double digits. Janaya Bradley led the Pride with 15 points, Emilee Marro added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Amanda Hawkesworth recorded her seventh double-double of the season (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Brittany Stone completed her eighth straight contest scoring in double figures (10 points).
Leading the Mariners was Amanda Garcia who scored a game-high 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Jessica Shepherd added 14 points and six rebounds while Dazjavia Williams grabbed 13 rebounds.
Both squads return to action on Saturday when Mitchell travels to Elms College for a 4:00 p.m. showdown with the Blazers and the Pride welcome Daniel Webster College to campus for a contest with tip-off slated for 3:00 p.m.