BROOKLINE, Mass. – Junior forward Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) led all scorers with 22 points as the Regis College women's basketball team defeated New England Collegiate Conference foe Newbury College 70-49 on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Crimson and Gold remain unbeaten in the conference and improve to 8-2 on the season. The Nighthawks fall to 3-8 and 2-2 NECC.

Senior guard Katelyn Roeser (Nashua, N.H.) connected with fellow senior guard Jovanna Sandifer (Boston, Mass.) for a long jumper to give the Nighthawks the lead to open the game but the Pride responded with a 5-0 run. After sophomore forward Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) knocked down a pair of free throws, senior forward Michaela Maguire (Revere, Mass.) drained a long outside trey to take the three-point, 5-2 lead.

The Nighthawks battled for the majority of the first quarter. First year forward Taylor Kelley (North Billerica, Mass.) found sophomore forward Destiny Spears (Arnold, Md.) in the paint to tie-up the game at six but the Pride offense re-ignited with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to seven points with three minutes remaining in the period.

At the start of the second quarter, Spears made it a two-possession game opening the period with lay-up but Regis had an answer and extending their lead to eight, twice in the period. The Nighthawks were not going to back down as Sandifer netted one of two from the charity stripe with 2:29 ticks on the clocks to pull Newbury within two scores, 23-19.

However, it was as close as they got. Regis ended the first half with an 8-0 run to take a 31-19 lead into the locker rooms.

When the teams return to the court at the start of the second half, the Pride picked up where they left off in the first half. Hawkesworth was nearly perfect from the floor, draining six-of-nine from the field for 16 of her 22 points. They continued to dominate the front court outscoring the Nighthawks 20-12 in the paint in the second half while recording 12 offensive rebounds.

But the Nighthawks were not going to be denied and battle valiantly until the end. Spears played magnificent defense recording her sixth double-double of the season leading Newbury with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Roeser paced the offense dishing out seven assists on the day. Sandifer rounded out the Nighthawks in double figures tying Spears with 10 points.

The Nighthawks return to the hard-court on Tuesday January 12th when they travel to Bennington, Vt. for a 4:00 p.m. against Southern Vermont College. The Pride will also be in action Tuesday evening when they travel to the Western part of the state for an 8:00 p.m. tilt against Bay Path University.

Release Courtesy of Newbury College Sports Information