BENNINGTON, Vt. – In the season home opener for the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team, the Mountaineers fell 86-57 to New England College Monday night in non-conference action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
Pilgrim junior guard Kayla Lawlor (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) dropped a game-high 30 points while shooting 50.0 percent (11-22) from the field to improve NEC's record to 3-3. Mountaineer sophomore captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) had a team-best 18 points in the loss that knocks SVC to 1-4 early in the campaign.
Lawler had 23 in the first half, a period through which New England took a quick lead that the Pilgrims would not relinquish. NEC freshman guard Jasmine Rayford (Baltimore, Md.) came off the bench and scored seven of her 10 first half points in a consecutive stretch for the Pilgrims who found themselves up 26-13 with 7:18 to play in the opening stanza. SVC responded with a seven-point run capped by a layup from sophomore forward Javasha White (Schenectady, N.Y.) to make it a 26-20 contest, but Lawlor closed out the final 2:17 with three long balls to take a 42-31 advantage into the locker room.
The Pilgrims continued to live from the perimeter after the break as senior guard Katarina Muska (Brimfield, Mass.) and Lawlor each drained a three to stretch out New England's lead. Southern Vermont limited its turnovers in comparison to the Mountaineers' season average, but their shooting was not enough to overcome NEC's 43.0 percentage from the field as the Pilgrims finished it out with 44 points in the second half for the 86-57 victory.
Flagg added six rebounds, five assists and two steals to her night while White just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Sophomore forward Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) matched her season-high with 13 points to go along with six rebounds and a block, and sophomore Mariah Anthony (Northfield, Mass.) had eight points and three steals off the bench for the Mountaineers.
Lawlor also just missed out on a double-double, recording a game-high nine assists to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Junior Taylor Burgess (Randallstown, Md.) chipped in with 14 points, five boards and five assists, and Rayford finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Muska grabbed a game-best four steals while adding two helpers.
The Mountaineers turn to their New England Collegiate Conference opener at Elms College on December 3 (6 p.m.) while the Pilgrims look to keep it going with their first North Atlantic Conference contest, a December 7 visit to Castleton State College for a 3 p.m. tip.