LONDMEADOW, Mass. – In a late-season New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball matchup, Southern Vermont College fell to hosting Bay Path College 59-53 Tuesday night in the teams' first meeting of the season.
Mountaineer freshman captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) led all players with 18 points while four Wildcats hit double-digits; sophomore guard Katherine Chabot (Brookfield, Mass.) led the team with 15 points.
The game was always in reach for Southern Vermont as BPC's largest lead all night was only eight points.
Bay Path started out with a 3-pointer from junior guard Justine Hook (Berwick, Pa.) and soon found itself ahead 10-6 five minutes in. The Mountaineers came back with a layup by freshman forward Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) and a trey from Flagg to close in 12-11.
A Flagg layup minutes later gave Southern Vermont the 18-17 advantage, its only lead of the game. The Wildcats responded quickly with a Chabot layup followed by a second after she picked the ball from the Mountaineers to give Bay Path a 21-18 lead with 6:25 to play in the first.
Chabot continued to run the floor and a long-range jumper by Hook right before the half extended the Wildcat lead to 36-29 headed into the break.
The two squads went back-and-forth for a majority of the second half, but a McDonald jumper following a basket by Mountaineer freshman Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) brought it to 45-41 with 8:25 left on the clock.
After Bay Path senior guard Brittney Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) missed the second of two free throws, a layup by SVC freshman Mariah Anthony (Northfield, Mass.) brought the Mountaineers to within three. A White layup cut it to 51-49, but the Wildcats were able to respond with a 5-0 run going into the final minute of play.
The two teams played the foul game, and BPC converted enough of its trips to the line to come away with the 59-53 win.
McDonald finished with a double-double by scoring 10 and grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds, as Flagg added seven rebounds, five steals and three assists on the night. Anthony had eight points on the night while White came off the bench for seven points and nine rebounds.
Alexander followed Chabot in scoring with 12 points off the bench for Bay Path, and Hook finished with 10 points and three assists. Wildcat junior forward Kayla Skiffington (East Longmeadow, Mass.) led all players with 13 rebounds and six assists to go along with her 10 points and two steals.
Both teams next play Thursday as Southern Vermont (3-18 overall, 3-11 NECC) is home for an 8 p.m. game against Becker College while Bay Path (10-10 overall, 7-7 NECC) visits Elms College for a 7 p.m. contest.