Pride Women’s Hoop Holds On for GNAC Win

WESTON, Mass. – After a slow start, Regis College erased a seven-point halftime deficit in the third quarter and then withstood a rally by Johnson & Wales University down the stretch as the Pride defeated the Wildcats, 42-41, Monday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) notched her ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, plus she earned a season-high six steals. Shannon Kelley (Quincy, Mass.) hit three long distance baskets as she finished with 11 points, while Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) came off the bench and earned seven points along with two blocks.

Down 20-13 at halftime, Regis put together a 10-2 scoring run, with Gonzalez and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) scoring all Pride points in the six-minute stretch, to pull ahead 23-22. After Maiyah Johnson put the Wildcats back on top, 26-25, the Pride scored the final nine points of the third quarter, including a three-pointer from Gonzalez, to take a 34-26 lead into the final period.

Kelley opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) added a free throw to give Regis its largest lead of the night at 38-26 with 7:43 remaining in regulation. Starting with a three-pointer from Sydney Butera and featuring two three-pointers from Sarah Wisniewski, the Wildcats rattled off 11 unanswered points to close to within one point at 38-37 with 2:46 left on the clock.

Searcy hit two free throws with 1:15 left, but JWU answered with a jumper from Rose Hockman to make it a one-point game. Regis missed two free throws, with Hockman grabbing the rebound off the second missed free throw chance to give the Wildcats an opportunity with 20.3 seconds remaining. However, JWU turned the ball over, and Searcy grabbed a rebound off a Pride missed free throw to give the home team another opportunity to close out the game.

Searcy made one of two free throw attempts to give Regis a three-point lead, but JWU created one final chance to tie the game when Wisniewski was fouled attempting a three-point shot. Wisniewski made the first free throw but missed the second attempt, and Regis was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock after the final attempt was made by Wisniewski.

Wisniewski led the Wildcats with 10 points, while Nahemma Walker finished with eight points, four rebounds, and three assists. JWU won the rebounding battle, 44-40, led by Peyton Oliver with 12 boards to go along with six points and four blocks.

As a team, Regis shot just 21.4 percent (12-for-56) from the field and 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from the free throw line, but the Pride scored 18 points off 18 Wildcat turnovers. JWU shot 31.5 percent (17-for-54) from the field.

Regis College (9-7, 8-2 GNAC) travels to New Haven, Conn., to face Albertus Magnus Wednesday, Feb. 9, starting at 7 p.m. Johnson & Wales (2-15, 2-9 GNAC) heads to Chicopee, Mass., to take on Elms College Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m.