Pride Lose to Emmanuel in Road Contest

BOSTON – Regis College lost to Emmanuel College, 80-55, Thursday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Andy Yosinoff Court.

For the second straight game, Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) collected 14 points, leading the Pride in scoring, while Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.) finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, including a 10-for-11 shooting performance from the free throw line. Junior Taylor Iorfino (Monroe, Conn.) notched the first double-double of her collegiate career thanks to a career-high effort of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

A three-pointer by Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) two minutes into the game gave Regis a 7-6 lead, but a basket by Yuleska Ramirez-Tejada a minute later allowed the Saints to pull ahead for good. Emmanuel outscored Regis 11-4 during the rest of the first quarter to extend its advantage to 21-13 heading into the second quarter.

A layup by Ramirez-Tejada and a three-pointer from Maddie McLaughlin extended the Saint lead to 34-19 midway through the second quarter, but the Pride fought back. Iorfino, Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.), and Bitinaitis all hit layups in the span of a minute to cut the Regis deficit to nine at 36-27 at halftime.

Emmanuel (9-4, 1-0 GNAC) went on a 17-5 scoring run in the third quarter, led by seven points from Ramirez-Tejada, to extend its advantage to 53-32. The Pride combined to shoot 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the final minute-and-a-half of the quarter to close to within 16 at 59-43.

The Saints finally put the game away with eight unanswered points in the fourth quarter, led by five points from McLaughlin. Regis responded with six straight points, including four by Iorfino, but Emmanuel made the final two baskets of the game to close out the night.

Ramirez-Tejada shot 13-of-24 from the field as she finished with 27 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Saints, while McLaughlin finished with 13 points and five assists. As a team, Emmanuel shot 44.0 percent (33-of-75) from the field, including 6-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the free throw line, plus the Saints dominated the boards, 58-37, including 20 offensive rebounds leading to 14 second chance points.

The Pride struggled from the field, hitting only 22.2 percent (14-of-63) of their field goal attempts. Regis did enjoy one of its best shooting nights from the free throw line at 79.3 percent (23-of-29), plus it committed only 12 turnovers, the second-lowest total in a game this season.

Regis (4-10, 0-2 GNAC) hosts Norwich University Saturday, Jan. 12, starting at 1 p.m. at Higgins Court. The Cadets will bring a 6-7 overall record, including a 1-1 mark within the GNAC, into Saturday's game after defeating Simmons earlier Thursday, 69-54.