WESTON, Mass. - Regis College stayed with WPI during a first quarter in which both teams hit half of their field goal attempts, but the Engineers kept shooting the ball at a high percentage to pull away with a 92-54 victory over the Pride Wednesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.
Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) led the Pride with 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 9-for-10 shooting from the free throw line, plus she collected five rebounds and four assists.
After a layup by Alice Kelly gave WPI an early 4-3 advantage, the Pride rattled off eight unanswered points, starting with a three-pointer by Jordyn Striggles (Raynham, Mass.) and continuing with five straight points from Doherty. The Engineers scored the final five points of the first quarter on a three-pointer by Ava Giansiracusa and a jumper from Megan Stone to close to within one point at 16-15 heading into the second period.
On WPI's first possession of the second quarter, Giansiracusa hit a three-pointer to put the Engineers on top for good as the visitors scored the first 13 points of the period. Starting with a three-pointer from Kelly, WPI scored the final six points of the first half to head into the locker room at halftime ahead, 41-25.
The Engineers continued to hit their long distance shots in the second half, making 77.8 percent (7-for-9) of their three-point opportunities after halftime as part of a second half shooting percentage of 66.7 percent (16-for-24). Of their 32 made field goals, 27 of them included assists, plus WPI won the rebounding battle, 35-21, including eight offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance points.
Kelly shot 12-for-16 from the field, making all four of her three-point attempts, to finish with a career-high 29 points along with seven rebounds. Giansiracusa ended up with 19 points along with seven rebounds, and Allison Fullem added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Regis (0-2) plays its first road game of the season Saturday, Nov. 16, against Clark University starting at 2 p.m. The Pride then host Salve Regina next Tuesday, Nov. 19, beginning at 7 p.m.