BROOKLINE, Mass. — Improving its league record to 5-0 on the season, the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team went on the road and defeated Newbury College 53-30 Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play.
The Mountaineers now claim a 7-5 overall season record while the loss drops NC to 3-8 overall, 2-3 in conference action.
SVC junior captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Connecticut) led all players with 14 points and seven assists, adding seven rebounds to her night. Classmate Turquoia Johnson (Montgomery Village, Maryland) added eight points to go with her game-best 12 rebounds, and freshman Chloe Longe (Enosburg Falls, Vermont) chipped in with eight points and four boards. Junior Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, New York) registered five points and nine rebounds, eight of those coming on the defensive glass to go with a block.
Sophomore Janetis Cardona (Southbridge, Massachusetts) led the Nighthawks with eight points and nine rebounds while senior Jamie Vankoeverden (Brooklyn, New York) tied her team-high of nine boards. Freshman Destiny Spears (Arnold, Maryland) and junior Jovanna Sandifer (Boston, Massachusetts) each added seven points in the effort.
Early struggles on both ends of the floor kept scoring scarce as the Mountaineers went up 8-4 on a jumper by freshman Danielle Simmons (Rensselaer, New York) with 11:47 to go in the first. SVC was able to answer Newbury through the next five minutes before registering seven unanswered with help from a Marissa Myers (Chatham, New York) three-pointer to take a 19-10 lead with 4:26 left in the opening period. A White layup gave Southern Vermont its biggest lead of the half (23-12), and the Mountaineers took a 24-14 advantage into the locker room.
The Nighthawks were able to score on their first possession of the second period, but SVC tallied the next seven, including three from freshman Amber Dow (Panton, Vermont) off a feed from Flagg, to go in front 31-16 with 15:44 to go.
Flagg and Johnson scored all eight of the next Mountaineer points as they held a 15-point advantage through the middle portion of the half. Southern Vermont would go up by as many as 19 before Longe notched the last six points of the game to give the Mountaineers the 53-30 victory.
SVC shot just 32.3 percent from the field (21-65) but held Newbury to a 10-60 clip (16.7 percent). NC had an 8-4 and 6-2 edge on steals and blocks, respectively, but Southern Vermont's depth showed itself as the visitors' bench outscored that of the Nighthawks by a 27-2 margin. SVC also owned a 22-16 advantage on points in the paint and controlled the boards by a 57-46 tally.
Both teams are at home for their next games on Thursday with the Mountaineers hosting Daniel Webster College for a 6 p.m. tip while Newbury welcomes Bay Path University for a 7 p.m. start.