LEICESTER, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College women's basketball team dropped its first of two regular season meetings to Becker College Tuesday night, 63-48, at the Leicester Gym in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action.

Becker junior forward Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) came off the bench to score 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds

For the Mountaineers, freshman captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) had a game-high 22 points with six rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Kala MacKenzie (Fair Haven, Vt.) added 15 points and 12 rebounds, all the while swatting away five shots by the Hawks. Freshman forward Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) was a force inside with 12 rebounds and two steals.

Mojica added a game-high five steals and chipped in three assists on the night. Sophomore guard Brooke Martel (Griswold, Conn.) had one of her best games of the season with 12 points and four rebounds. Junior guard Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) contributed everywhere as usual, scoring seven points, dishing out eight assists, pulling down six boards, tallying two steals and coming up with two blocks in the closing minutes. Junior guard Chelsea Joubert (Westborough, Mass.) added 11 points with five steals. Becker took advantage of their extra opportunities, outscoring Southern Vermont in points off turnovers, 29-9. 

After Becker scored the first basket of the game, the Mountaineers responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead, sparked by Flagg's outstanding guard play. The Hawks soon righted the ship, scoring 13 of the game's next 15 points to take the lead, a run capped off by junior forward Tarisha Renaud (Worcester, Mass.) hitting a jumper at the top of the key with 10:26 remaining in the period as Becker went up 15-9. Southern Vermont never went away, pulling to within three after a pair of free throws from Flagg with 3:54 left to play in the first. The Hawks entered the break leading 27-22. Flagg had 14 points at halftime while Martel led the home team with eight in the opening period.

The second half continued to see the Mountaineers attempt to overtake the Hawks with Becker looking to hold off the visitors. Midway through the stanza, the Hawks began taking the game in their talons, slowly pulling away. With 11:18 left in the game, Ooms picked off a pass at midcourt and took it in herself for a short jumper off the backboard to put Becker up by seven. With 8:49 remaining, Mojica stole the ball and found Joubert for a fast-break layup, and the lead was extended to nine. It was all part of a 14-4 Hawk run that gave Becker control of the game, and they would not let up until the final buzzer. The Hawks shot 51.5 percent from the floor after halftime.

Both teams continue their NECC schedules Thursday when the Mountaineers (3-15 overall, 3-8 NECC) host Elms College for a 6 p.m. tip and the Hawks (5-13 overall, 4-7 NECC) travel to play Daniel Webster College at 7 p.m.