PRIDE ADVANCE TO THIRD-STRAIGHT NECC FINAL

WESTON, Mass. – On a night where the shots weren't falling, the top-seeded Regis College women's basketball team relied on their defense to carry them to a 64-31 victory over No. 4 seed Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference Semifinal game Friday night in Weston, Mass. Regis improves to 21-5 overall, while the Mariners finish the year at 13-13.

The Crimson and Gold advance to their third-straight NECC Championship game and will try and capture a third consecutive title on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against No. 3 seed Southern Vermont College, who defeated No. 2 Elms, 70-65 in the other NECC Semifinal.

Regis could only muster 27.8% (22-of-79) shooting in the game, but knocked down 16-of-21 attempts at the freethrow line. The Pride defense held Mitchell to only 25.5% (14-of-55) shooting on the night, forcing 30 turnovers, and grabbing 17 steals to go with four blocked shots.

The Pride started to pull away in the first half as they jumped out to an 11-4 lead following a pair of Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) freethrows. Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Conn.) answered on the other end for Mitchell, but a 9-0 run from the Pride capped off by a pair of Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) freebies staked the Pride to a 20-6 lead.

Shepherd had the answer again for the Mariners, going on a personal 4-0 run to cut the deficit back to 20-10. This time the Pride ended the half on a 15-7 run, to take a 35-17 lead into the break.

Shepherd led all scorers at the break, netting 12 of Mitchell's 17 points in the frame. Hawkesworth led the Regis attack, scoring eight points, while Bradley and Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) had seven points apiece.

Regis wasted no time in the second half, jumping out to a 53-21 lead with 13:31 remaining. Mitchell chipped away, going on a 10-3 run to claw back to 56-31. Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) connected on three field goals during the run, with Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) adding the other two buckets.

Those would be the final points of the night for the Mariners, however, as Regis scored the final eight points of the game to win 64-31.

Amanda Hawkesworth led the Pride with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, to go with three steals. Brittany Stone also added a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) just missed out on one of her own with nine points and nine rebounds. Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.) was the final Pride player in double-figures with 10 points. Alyssa Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) came off the bench to grab a game-high five steals.

Mitchell was paced by 12 points from Jessica Shepherd. Diamond Thomas and Amanda Garcia added eight points apiece. Garcie and Dazjavia Williams (Waterbury, Conn.) tied for the team-lead with seven rebounds on the night, with Thomas adding six of her own to go with three assists.