WESTON, Mass.—Having gone 1-1 last week, Regis College women’s basketball will again play in two conference games this week. Hosting Western New England Tuesday at 5:30 p.m, before it travels to Roger Williams (t-5th) on Saturday to close out the week. The Pride will look to improve on its 5-4 record with a win in both games.
The Golden Bears (12-8, 4-5 TCCC) are riding a two game conference-winning streak into Higgins Court, while Regis College took down Gordon before falling to Endicott last week.
Sophomore Alex Chace (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) had a career-high 24 points versus Endicott, while shooting an outstanding 7-for-11 (.636) from the three-point arc. Chace also shot a team best 8-for-13 (.615) from the field. Just two other times this season has Chace scored double figures.
She has upped her points per game average to 10.7 (+4.5) in conference play, and become a major contributor for Regis. Versus conference teams only, Chace is second in total points (96), behind leader Stephanie Crawford (118).
Chace has certainly added to Regis’ success when coming off the bench, and her scoring ability is clearly a presence. Crawford has been one of the most consistent players for Regis over the season. Averaging 13.1 PPG, Crawford leads the team, and ranks 11th in TCCC play. She holds the third spot in assist-to-turnover ratio average (3.3) within the conference.
Crawford and Sarah McNult seem to be in ideal balance each game. McNult has averaged 7.7 rebounds and 7.5 points in her last four conference games. For the majority of the season she had been averaging double-digit performances in each category. Her 19-point and 19 rebound night versus Colby (Jan. 25) was the last double-double performance she had.
Western New England’s Emily Savino is ranked 16th in the conference with 11.5 points per game. Kelly McCormick places in the top 10 in rebounds averaging 8.3 per game.
The Golden Bears finish in the top 10 in defensive rebounds, while finishing last in offensive rebounds with just 12 rebounds per game. On the positive side for Western New England it does have the third best field goal percentage, making a shade over 40 percent of its attempts.
Also, Western New England tallies just nine more points per game in scoring offense (59.9) than it allows on scoring defense (59.0).
Comparatively, Roger Williams is averaging 62.9 points per game, while allowing a conference fifth place best 57.4 points to opponents. Regis allows 56.4 points on average.
Three Hawks tally double figures. Alexandria Lanieri, Kaitlyn Bovee and Elizabeth Kilzi are all ranked in the TCCC scoring 12.6, 10.3, and 10.2 points per game, respectively.
Lanieri is also ranked 14th in the conference with an average of 7.4 rebounds per game. She has also had a team game-high six times this season, once tying with Bovee with 14 points against Trinity. Lanieri had a season-high 27 points versus Wheaton.
Bovee also has six games in which she had team highs. She also scored a personal-high 21 points versus Salve Regina, while grabbing 13 rebounds in the same contest.
Regis College has shown consistency over its past few games, but has also lost some possible wins to not playing within its system. The Pride is capable of defeating both teams scheduled for this week, having a slightly better advantage over the Golden Bears.
Crawford and McNult should manage team-highs in points and rebounds, respectively, while teammates Chace, Claire Ramonas, and Teresa Busiek continue their roles in the system.