BENNINGTON, Vt. – A late go-ahead basket and proceeding strip gave the visiting Becker College women's basketball team a 57-55 victory over Southern Vermont College Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
Becker was able to use 15 second-half offensive rebounds to overcome a two-point halftime deficit and only a 23.7 percent shooting performance from the floor in the closing stanza.
Three starters for each team reached double-digits in scoring with Hawk junior guard Chelsea Joubert (Westborough, Mass.) leading all players with 15.
Mountaineer freshman captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) and freshman forward Sarah Mcdonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) each had a team-leading 14 points. SVC freshman Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) also recorded a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The game was tight the whole way with Southern Vermont holding the biggest lead, five points, just momentarily early into the second half.
With the Mountaineers ahead 10-8, Joubert knocked down a 3-pointer to take a quick lead, the Hawks' last of the opening stanza, with 13:16 to play. Becker would tie the score a handful of times through the first, but Southern Vermont ran behind 44.8 percent shooting from the floor in the half to find itself ahead time after time. A Joubert free throw cut the SVC lead to 29-27 going into the locker room.
SVC opened the second half with a 3-pointer by sophomore captain Jyline Varin (Sharon Springs, N.Y.) to take the five-point advantage, but it would be short lived after a pair of free throws from Hawk junior forward Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) moved Becker back to within three.
Becker had to play from behind for a majority of the half but regained a lead with 7:52 to play after a Joubert layup made it 42-20. Flagg grabbed a defensive rebound and converted it into a trey to put the Mountaineers back in front.
The two teams traded baskets until Flagg hit two from the charity stripe to give SVC the 55-52 edge with under two minutes to play. Becker sophomore guard Taylor Snediker (Grafton, Mass.) made a layup to close within one, and a tie-up gave the Hawks back the ball as the possession arrow favored the visitors. Junior guard Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) then made a jumper after a Becker timeout with 13 ticks on the clock.
Southern Vermont used its final timeout to draw up its play which saw Flagg run the floor as the clock ran down, only to be stripped and force the Mountaineers to foul Becker junior forward Jacqueline Chila (Monroe, Conn.). Chila missed and made her bonus shots to give SVC one final run with two seconds left. Flagg's half-court shot missed the target as the Hawks celebrated the 57-55 win.
Mountaineer freshman forward Kala MacKenzie (Fair Haven, Vt.) also had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds to go along with four blocks. Flagg added eight assists and two steals to her line.
Mojica followed Joubert with 12 points and seven rebounds as Ooms finished the night with 10 points, three assists and a game-high six steals.
With the impending winter storm, both teams have had their Saturday games pushed to Monday. Southern Vermont (3-19 overall, 3-12 NECC) will host Mitchell College at 5 p.m. while the Hawks (8-14 overall, 7-8 NECC) go to Regis College for a 6 p.m. tilt.