BENNINGTON, Vt. – A late run in the final couple minutes allowed Newbury College to complete a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) comeback Tuesday night as the visiting Nighthawks took to a 54-46 women's basketball win over Southern Vermont College at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

SVC was on top 27-16 at the halftime break, but Newbury came back in the third to eventually tie it up and make it a brand new ballgame. NC went up by 10 midway through the fourth quarter before Southern Vermont turned the tables to take a one-point edge late in the game. The Nighthawks closed it out with eight unanswered, however, to finish off the season sweep of SVC.

The Mountaineers (1-14, 1-9 NECC) are next in action on Thursday when they visit Bay Path University for an 8 p.m. league tip-off. NC hosts Elms College the same night— that Conference contest set to start at 7 p.m.

Three Southern Vermont freshmen made it into double figures for points with Kelly Dobbert (Stamford, Vt.) and Danielle Biggers (Bronx, N.Y.) both notching a team-leading and season-high 12; Dobbert also pulled down a season-best 10 rebounds to pace the Mountaineers and notch her first collegiate double-double while Biggers snagged another six boards. Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) scored 11 for the hosts while fellow freshman Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) had eight rebounds off the bench.

Two Nighthawks had double-doubles in the win with sophomore Savannah Olsen (Battle Creek, Mich.) dropping a game-high 24 points to go with her 10 boards; junior Destiny Spears (Arnold, Md.) added 18 points while grabbing a night-best 15 rebounds and notching three steals.

NC went 19-for-53 (35.8 percent) from field goal range while SVC finished with a 32.3 percent (19-59) clip from the floor. The Mountaineers tallied seven triples to Newbury's three, but the Nighthawks outscored Southern Vermont 28-22 from the paint.

Scoring went back-and-forth off the tip— Dobbert grabbing her first rebound off the offensive glass and putting it right back up for a 5-4 SVC edge. After NC took the lead with a three by sophomore Christina Babcock (Ayer, Mass.), Southern Vermont closed out the opening quarter with five unanswered points; Mallett had the first two of those when she took the ball at the left edge of the arc and drove to the hoop through an open left side for the easy layup.

Mountaineer senior captain Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) drained a three to put her team up 13-7 on the first possession of the second quarter, but Newbury came back to tie it with six straight as sophomore Taylor Kelly (North Billerica, Mass.) knocked down a jumper from the top of the key. SVC ran the floor off a steal and turned it into a quick two as Mallett completed the transition bucket, and Biggers followed with her first trey to give Southern Vermont the five-point advantage.

Biggers would soon-after add her second from downtown as she banked it off the glass from the left edge of the perimeter— making it a 21-16 lead for the hosts with 4:57 to go in the half. Southern Vermont then recorded six-straight points to close out the quarter with momentum and go into the locker room on top 27-16.

Newbury came out of the break and immediately cut its deficit down to four— scoring the first seven of the third period as Olsen started the spurt with a three from the left side. SVC gained some separation with great ball movement leading to the next two field goals, but NC once again kept pace as the Nighthawks notched five straight for a slim 31-28 Southern Vermont lead; those points started a 12-2 Newbury run which put the visitors in front by a pair. Dobbert got a layup to go before a 1-for-2 bonus opportunity by NC made it a 36-35 game going into the final stanza.

Olsen nailed a triple from the left side for the first score of the fourth on a quick catch-and-shoot, and Spears chipped in with back-to-back layups to help give her squad a 45-35 upper hand. SVC refused to go into the snowy night quietly as sophomore Amber Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.) connected on a deep shot to spark an 11-0 Mountaineer run— Biggers hitting a pair of treys on consecutive Southern Vermont trips down the floor during that surge to help the hosts regain the lead (46-45). Mallett's go-ahead layup would be the last score of the game for SVC, however, as the visitors closed it out with 10 unanswered points in the final 1:59 of action to walk out with the win.

– #LetsGoSVC –