REGIS COLLEGE FINDS WAY TO DEFEAT WENTWORTH

REGIS COLLEGE FINDS WAY TO DEFEAT WENTWORTH

WESTON, Mass.Alex Chace (Easton, Mass.) had a team-high 17 points for Regis College, while Wentworth's Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) added 17 points for her team. Chace helped Regis College (10-9, 3-3 TCCC) to a 77-55 victory over conference opponent Wentworth (8-10, 2-4 TCCC) Saturday night.

Wentworth opened to an early lead, but would eventually fall subject to repeat three-point baskets by Regis' Alex Chace (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames). Lauren Kimble also contributed from three-point range. The pair had 10 and 7 points, respectively, in the first half. Chace was 4-for-9 (.444) from behind the three-point line in the game, and finished with a team-high 17 points.

Wentworth's Meagan Pennock had 9 points in the first half. She would help the Leopards to a five-point lead at 7-2, before Regis College would battle back to tie the game 10-10 at 14:05 in the first. The lead was the only one that the Leopards would hold in the game. The score was tied at two points, before Regis College eventually took the lead.

Pennock would finished with 11 points, shooting better than 43 percent (4-for-7) from the field and 2-for-3 (.667) from the free-throw line. Pennock also had a team-high four assists. Wentworth's Kirsten Vallone (Avon, NY/Avon Central) also had 11 points.

Regis' bench scored 30 points total with Chace leading the way, Sarah McNult (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) and Stephanie Crawford (Rockland, Mass./Rockland) each finished with 13 points. McNult was two rebounds short of a double-double. She was perfect from the line (3-for3), and shot better than 63 percent (5-for-8) from the field.

As a team, Regis College shot better than 53.1 percent (26-for-49), in comparison to Wentworth's 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the field. Kerr was 7-for-15 (.466) in 29 minutes.

The teams were similar statistically except for in rebounds, assists, and turnovers. The Regis College defense forced 19 Wentworth turnovers to score 23 points. Wentworth forced 14 turnovers, scoring just eight points. The Leopards held a 35-30 rebounding advantage, holding a significant upper hand in defensive rebounds (16-9).

Regis College had 13 assists, four more than the Wentworth offense. Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) had a team-high six assists.

The Pride jumped to a 10-point lead with 10:57 remaining in the first half, steadily increasing that lead until an 8-0 run came to a close with a jumper by Pennock. Vallone would end the first half at the free-throw line when she converted both attempts to enter intermission down 43-30.

Returning from halftime the teams would get back to work. Brittany White (Dorchester, Mass./New Mission) opened the half with a short jumper. At 16:25 Kerr would hit a jumper, and less than a minute later score another to cut the Regis College lead to its lowest of the second half at 14 points (52-38).

From that point forward Regis College was able to suppress the Wentworth defense enough to continue its offensive production.

The Pride would capture a 26-point lead with 24-seconds remaining in the game. The loss is Wentworth's fourth in its last six games, while Regis College captured its first win since losing Thursday.

The Leopards and Regis College return to the court Feb. 2 for home contests. Wentworth will host the University of New England, while Regis College hosts Gordon. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.