WESTON, Mass. – In a close contest with 13 ties and 11 lead changes, Regis College was unable to at least pull even with Saint Joseph's College at the end, as the Monks defeated the Pride, 64-62, Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Higgins Court.
Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) notched her third consecutive double-double, shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line, to finish with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) scored a season-high 18 points and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) pulled down 10 rebounds as the Pride finished with a slight rebounding edge, 40-39.
Saint Joseph's jumped out to an 8-2 lead, led by Cassandra Stapelfeld with six points, but the Pride answered with an 11-3 scoring run to take the lead, 13-11. The Monks scored the final five points of the first quarter thanks to a three-pointer by Grace Philippon and a jumper from Jayne Howe to head into the second period with an 18-15 advantage.
After a three-pointer by Gonzalez tied the game, Stapelfeld hit her own three-pointer and Kaleigh Walsh hit a jumper as the Monks went back on top, 23-18. Another three-pointer from Gonzalez pulled Regis into a 26-26 tie, but Saint Joseph's scored nine unanswered points, capped by a three-pointer from Hannah Talon. The Pride once again came back with seven straight points to close out the first half, cutting the Monk halftime advantage to two at 37-35.
The Pride opened the third quarter on an 8-2 scoring run to pull ahead by four at 43-39, but the Monks roared back with seven unanswered points, capped by a traditional three-point play from Stapelfeld. Regis closed the third quarter with an 8-3 scoring stretch to take a 53-51 lead into the fourth period.
Whalen hit a layup midway through the fourth quarter to give Regis a 58-55 advantage, but two three-pointers from Stapelfeld put the Monks ahead for good. After Angelica Hurley made two free throws with 27 seconds remaining in regulation, Gonzalez hit a layup to bring the Pride back within one. Walsh made one free throw with 13 seconds left, but Regis could not convert on its final possession.
Stapelfeld led all players with 25 points, while Hurley collected 12 points and seven rebounds and Philippon added 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. As a team, the Monks shot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free throw line.
The Pride shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the field and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the free throw line, plus they scored 17 second chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.
Regis College (3-5, 2-1 GNAC) takes the short trip Saturday, Dec. 11, to face Framingham State in a non-conference game starting at 12 p.m. Saint Joseph's College (7-1, 2-0 GNAC) hits the road as well for a league contest against Elms College Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.