HOLYOKE, Mass.- Mountaineer's freshman guard Joa Claircius (Clermont, Fla.) topped all players scoring 31 points while pulling down eleven boards to give herself a double-double and earn the SVC women's basketball team its first Conference victory 76- 49 on the road against the Bay Path Wildcats Thursday night.
Claircius stepped up late in the first half and provided the spark to lead the Mountaineers to a seven point lead heading into the locker room. Southern Vermont's entire roster made an impact for the Mountaineers in Thursday nights win. Coming off the bench, freshman guard Kristen Cummings (New Britain, Conn.) was one of three to score eleven points. Fellow freshman guards Alyssa Davis (West Burke, Vt.) and Kayla Whitman (Bennington, Vt.) combined for 22 points each tallying eleven for the night. Whitman added six steals, five boards and five assists, while Davis added seven rebounds and four assists.
Defensively sophomore forward Kiara Bates (Washington, D.C.) tied Claircius under the glass with eleven rebounds. Bates had six points. Sophomore forward Tiarra Hall (Washington, D.C.) also put up six points.
Bay Path's junior forward Jessica Hunt led the Wildcats with 20 points, 22 rebounds and eight blocks. Bay Path's sophomore guard Kat Begin nabbed her collegiate career high adding 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. Junior point-guard Christina Calabrese also scored in the double figures chipping in ten points, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Senior guard Sarah Wright added five points and six boards. Coming off the bench, freshman guard Caitlin Ferland rounded out the scoring for Bay Path putting up her first collegiate bucket.
Bay Path, again, was unable to handle the ball well allowing the Mountaineers 19 steals off of 32 turnovers. Southern Vermont took advantage of the turnovers scoring 22 of their 79 points off of fast break buckets.
The Wildcats stepped up inside scoring 15 points off of 15 offensive boards for the game. Southern Vermont pulled down 21 offensive boards only scoring eleven in second chance shots.
The Mountaineers are now 3-8 overall and 1-2 in the NECC, while the Wildcats fall to 2-9 on the season and 0-2 in conference. Southern Vermont hosts a Conference showdown Saturday at 1:00pm when they face Elms College at the SVC Field House.