BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College women's basketball team lost in its first game of the fresh year, 80-34, to the visiting Mass. College of Liberal Arts at SVC Thursday night in non-conference action.
Four players reached double digits for the Trailblazers, while the Mountaineers didn't help themselves out with a slew of turnovers. Inexperience on the Southern Vermont side showed, as a MCLA and its tried-and-tested players applied the correct pressure on defense when necessary to force the SVC mistakes and turn them into points.
MCLA led by 11 at the half with help from senior Johanna Miner's (Greenfield, Mass.) eight points; she mirrored that in the second for 16 on the night. Miner also grabbed three of the Trailblazers' 11 offensive rebounds in the opening stanza allowing MCLA to take advantage of second chances.
The Trailblazers never saw the lead dissipate as they kept running an efficient offense and pressing defense in the second half. SVC freshman captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) tried to push the Mountaineers by running tough and getting to the free throw line, converting on five of six tries in the second. That would fail to be enough as the Southern Vermont offense never got into full gear and gain momentum as time ticked away and MCLA left with the win.
Trailblazer senior guard Lucy Tremblay (E. Greenbush, N.Y.) led all players with 18 points, 14 coming in the second half, while also notching a game-high six assists. She was 4-9 from beyond the arc to help MCLA to a 38.9 percentage from 3-point range.
Mountaineer freshman Kala MacKenzie (Fair Haven, Vt.) recorded another double-double on the season, scoring a team-high 12 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds; she also led the night with six blocks. Freshman Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) had seven rebounds and six points for SVC.
Southern Vermont will attempt to bounce back on Sunday when the Mountaineers (1-7, 1-1 NECC) host Pine Manor College for a 1 p.m. tip, while MCLA (8-4) opens Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference play on Tuesday with a home game against Salem State University.