WESTON, Mass. – A balanced scoring attack by Regis College downed the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team 76-36 Saturday afternoon at Higgins Court in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action.
The Mountaineers jumped to a quick 8-2 lead to open the game after freshman forward Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) hit a layup and nailed a free throw to complete the three-point play just under three minutes in. The Pride responded by going on a 20-0 run over the course of six minutes and led 22-8 by the 11:07 mark. Tight defense by Regis led to 14 first-half turnovers by the visitors; the Pride was able to capitalize and turn those into 20 of its first-half points.
Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) and Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) each notched eight points in the opening stanza to lead the Pride who were up 40-20 at halftime. Regis was able to pour on the pressure and limit the Mountaineers' scoring column to just McDonald and freshman captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.).
The second half opened with another impressive stretch by the Crimson & Gold, increasing its lead to 55-20 at the 13:02 mark after a 15-0 run. Nikki Strizzi (Old Lyme, Conn.) hit a free throw with just under five minutes remaining to push the lead to the largest of the night, 72-29, and the Pride went on to win the game 76-36.
Flagg and McDonald led the way for the Mountaineers finishing with 13 points apiece. Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) also had a huge game on the boards for Southern Vermont grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.
Marro and Sabree Rodriguez (Brockton, Mass.) finished in double figures for the Pride, scoring 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Rodriguez grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists, and made four steals while Marro had five rebounds, one assist, and three steals of her own.
The Regis bench was huge and accounted for 41 of the Pride's points on the day. Monet Lowe (Framingham, Mass.) finished just shy of a double-double after putting up 13 points and nine rebounds; she also had four assists. Regis has now won eleven straight games which is the longest win streak the program has seen since the 1996-97 season when the Pride won twelve in a row.
Both teams will play next on Tuesday as Southern Vermont (3-17 overall, 3-10 NECC) will travel to Bay Path College for an 8 p.m. tip-off, and Regis (16-4 overall, 13-0 NECC) will host Lesley University at 7 p.m.