Photo Courtesy: Bill DiLillo Photography
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Southern Vermont College women's basketball came out strong only down 26-22 at the half when the Mitchell College Mariners pulled away to its eventual 61-37 victory Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center. Alyssa Davis led the Mountaineers with 10 points while Christie Henry pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds.
Senior Jennifer Iglesias led all scorers with 19 points and added four assists as the Mariners (4-8 overall) improved to 4-2 in NECC play.
Neither team lit it up in the first half-Southern Vermont (1-12 overall, 0-6 NECC) shot 29 percent from the floor while Mitchell chimed in at 23 percent. The Mariners, however, took better care of the basketball, committing only five turnovers to the Mountaineers' 12. The result was a 9-2 edge in points off turnovers for Mitchell, which led 26-22 at the intermission. Iglesias paced the Mariners with 12 points in the first half.
Mitchell got its offense going in the second half while Southern Vermont continued to struggle. The Mariners scored the first 13 points of the stanza to pump the lead to double digits. The Mountaineers went scoreless until Henry converted a free throw with 10:33 to play. Southern Vermont missed its first 14 field goal attempts of the half and got its first basket, a layup by Kayla Williams, with 9:53 remaining in the contest.
The Mariners quickly expanded the lead to 47-27 on a layup by sophomore Bianca Young and never looked back. Mitchell outscored Southern Vermont by a 35-15 margin in the second half and shot 34 percent from the field. The Mariners also held a 61-50 advantage on the glass and committed a season-low 11 turnovers.
Iglesias was 7-of-20 from the floor and made four three-pointers. Sophomore Destiney Harris also finished in double figures for the Mariners with 12 points and added a team-high 10 rebounds and three steals.
Southern Vermont will host Bay Path College on Thursday, January 21st, at 7 p.m.