Women’s Hoop Earns Key Road Conference Victory

NEW LONDON, N.H. – On a night where the field goal shooting inside Coffin Field House was just as cold as the weather outside, Regis College made key baskets in the second half to defeat Colby-Sawyer College, 41-37, Thursday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball game.

Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) led the Pride with 14 points, plus she earned eight rebounds and two steals. Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) hit three three-pointers as she finished with 10 points, and Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.) notched her first double-double as a member of the Pride with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Veasey scored six of Regis's first quarter points as the Pride took a 7-6 lead into the second stanza, and then a Russell three-pointer started an 8-3 scoring run that extended the lead to 15-9. Colby-Sawyer scored the final eight points of the second quarter, with six of those points coming on free throws, including two by Riley Corrigan with one second remaining to put the Chargers ahead at halftime, 17-15.

The Pride scored the first six points of the third quarter, led by Martin with four points, to retake the lead, but two free throws by Lexie Hamilton and a jumper by Lydia Nattress pulled the Chargers into a 25-25 tie. After a series of empty possessions for both teams, Russell hit a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to end the period, giving Regis a 28-25 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Colby-Sawyer (13-8, 5-3 GNAC) tied the game in the first minute of the final quarter on a three-pointer by Corrigan, and then the Chargers regained the lead on a traditional three-point play by Tianna Sugars. Sugars also answered a Martin three-pointer with another layup to put the home team back on top, but Veasey hit a jumper to tie the game at 33-33 with four minutes left in regulation.

Each team missed two shots, and then Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) picked up a steal to give Regis possession. She eventually found Russell for a deep three-pointer to put the Pride ahead for good, and then she fed Martin on Regis's next possession to extend the Pride's advantage to five at 38-33 with 1:24 remaining in the quarter.

The Chargers responded with a jumper by Joslin Wainwright and then, after a Regis turnover and foul, Sugars made the first of two free throw attempts. She missed the second, and Veasey pulled down the important rebound. She was fouled when the Pride put the ball back into play and made both free throws to extend the Regis lead back to four.

On Colby-Sawyer's next possession, Russell stole the ball, was fouled, and made one free throw. The Chargers missed a three-point attempt on their final serious possession, allowing the Pride to clinch the victory.

Sugars notched a double-double, leading the Chargers with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Hamilton also scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. As a team, Colby-Sawyer shot just 22.2 percent (10-of-45) from the field, including 3-of-16 from behind the three-point line, and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the free throw line.

The Pride did not fare much better, hitting only 29.4 percent (15-of-51) of their field goal attempts, including 4-of-13 from behind the three-point line, and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) of their free throw opportunities. Regis won the rebounding battle, 43-35, and each team committed 18 turnovers.

Regis (8-13, 4-4 GNAC) will play three of its final four regular season games at home, starting Saturday, Feb. 2, against Rivier at 3:30 p.m. At halftime, former recipients of the prestigious Mother Regis and Regis-Casserly awards will be recognized on the court.