STONE'S CAREER DAY HELPS PRIDE DOWN ELMS

CHICOPEE, Mass. ­– The Regis College women's basketball team pulled away in the second half and cruised to a 92-54 win over Elms College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at Picknelly Arena.

Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) dropped a monster double-double of a career-high 36 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks in the win. Stone went 15-for-19 from the field en route to tying the program record for points in a game set by Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) exactly two weeks ago against Daniel Webster.

Hawkesworth added a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go with a six assists. Senior guard Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) inched closer to the 1,000 point plateau with 12 points, while Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) chipped in 10 points.

The first half was a more contested period than the second half proved to be. Leading 6-4 with 18:17, the Pride doubled their point total on Elms to 12-6 at the 14:38 mark. The Blazers rallied back with a 13-6 run, fueled by five points from senior guard Gianna Youngblood (Lakeville, Mass.), to take their lone lead of the game, 19-18, with 9:34 on the clock. The Pride responded with a layup from Stone on their ensuing possession, and bolstered their advantage to 34-24 behind a 16-5 run over the next seven minutes. The Blazers trimmed their deficit to single digits, 38-29, at the break.

The Pride used a 54-point second half to cruise to victory. Regis opened the second half on a 24-10 run, capped off by back-to-back layups from Stone to put the Pride up 62-39 lead with 10:50 remaining in the half. Marro check back into the game to bury nine points during an 18-6 run by the Pride, extending the Regis lead to 80-45 with 4:41 to play. The Pride closed the game outscoring Elms, 12-9, to secure the 92-54 victory.

The Pride controlled the glass, 46-35, during the contest. Elms converted 29.1% (16-of-55) from the floor, including 14.3% (1-of-7) from three-point range, and 67.7% (21-of-31) from the foul line. Regis shot 51.7% (31-of-60) from the field, 20% (2-of-10) from three-point, and 82.4% (28-of-34) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers were paced by a team-high 15 points from Youngblood, shooting 4-of-9 from the floor, with five rebounds. Senior forward Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) and junior guard Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) each netted 11 points, while Parks added a team-high 11 rebounds, and Brown had three steals and two rebounds. Sophomores Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) and Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) tallied six points apiece.

The Blazers drop to 15-8 overall, and 13-3 in the NECC. Regis improves to 17-5, and remains a perfect 15-0 in NECC play. Elms returns to the court with their road finale at Southern Vermont Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Regis travels to Lesley Tuesday night for an 8:00 p.m. tilt.

Release courtesy of Elms College Sports Information