WESTON, Mass. – The top-seeded Regis College women's basketball team won its second consecutive New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship with a 71-43 victory over No. 2 Elms College on Saturday afternoon in Weston, Mass.
The Pride (23-4) have earned their second-straight NCAA Tournament bid and await word on Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. to hear where they will be headed. Elms wraps up its season at 18-10 and hope for a postseason berth of their own. Regis becomes the first team since Lesley University to win back-to-back NECC women's basketball championships after the Lynx accomplished the feat in 2009 and 2010.
Junior captains Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) and Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) were both named to the NECC All-Tournament Team, as Marro was also named the Tournament MVP. Elms' Denisha Parks (Fall River, Mass.) and J.C. Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) were also named to the All-Tournament Team, joining Becker's Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) and Mitchell's Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Conn.).
Regis raced out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game as four different players scored for the Pride. A jumper from Ellen Donohue (Southington, Conn.) followed by a layup from Denisha Parks cut the Elms deficit to only three, but the Pride rattled off a 9-1 run capped off by a Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine) layup to give Regis an 18-7 advantage with 11:41 remaining.
At the 4:20 mark, a pair of Parks baskets sandwiched an Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) freethrow to make it an eight point game at 29-21. Out of a Pride timeout, Alyssa Vieira-Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) would knock down a jumper to put the Pride back on top by 10 at 31-21, which would prove to be the last bucket of the half as the Pride took a 10 point lead into the break.
Janaya Bradley led Regis with nine points, while Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) added seven of her own. Denisha Parks posted eight points and seven rebounds to lead the Blazers.
After the intermission, the Regis lead ballooned to 17 as Marro scored seven points in the opening four minutes of the half. Gianna Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass.) answered with five-straight points to make it a 42-30 game, and a jumper by Emily Burr cut the deficit to single digits at 44-36 with 10:24 to play.
A 15-foot jumper from Bradley ended a nearly three minute scoring drought for the Pride, and an and-one layup from Marro on the next possession helped spark a 12-0 run by Regis to give them a 56-36 lead with just over six minutes to play. Back-to-back baskets by J.C. Pickett made it a 16-point game, but that would be as close as the Blazers would get as Regis held leads in excess of 28 points en route to their second-straight NECC crown.
The Pride won the rebounding battle, 45-38, and committed only eight turnovers compared to 18 for the visitors. Regis turned those into 24 points off turnovers, scoring 20 points on the fastbreak as well. The Pride shot 28-of-68 (41.2%) from the floor and connected on only 2-of-14 three pointers, while Elms shot 16-of-54 (29.6%) from the field and only hit 1-of-13 triples on the day.
Janaya Bradley led the Pride with 20 points, while Marro chipped in 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Senior Claire Ramonas added 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Amanda Hawkesworth grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points, three assists, a pair of blocks, and four steals. Mikayla Murphy (Attleboro, Mass.) and Vieira-Lanpher each scored five points apiece off the bench.
Elms was led by a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds from Denisha Parks. Gianna Youngblood added 11 points and six rebounds, while J.C. Pickett had seven points and eight rebounds. Marissa Merrill (Meredith, N.H.) chipped in six points, while Ellen Donohue finished with five of her own.