Regis Women’s Basketball Succumbs to Colby Comeback

BRUNSWICK, Maine – Regis College held the lead heading into the final quarter, but Colby College rallied for a 58-56 victory Saturday afternoon in the third game of the Coastal Classic Tip-Off, hosted by Bowdoin College at Morrell Gymnasium.

Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) hit three three-pointers to lead the Pride with 13 points and two steals, while Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line as she finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots. Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) collected seven points, Taylor Iorfino (Monroe, Conn.) contributed six points, a team-high nine rebounds, and two blocked shots, and three other Regis players added six points and five rebounds apiece.

Colby (1-1) scored the first five points of the game, but Regis responded with six straight points, capped by a Russell three-pointer, to pull ahead 10-9. Jackie Albanese would hit a jumper in the final seconds of the first quarter to give the Mules a 13-12 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Down by four points in the second quarter, the Pride rallied with 11 unanswered points over a four-minute span, led by six points from Veasey, to take their biggest lead of the game at 29-22. Once again, the Mules scored on the final possession of the quarter, as a layup by Katie McCrum pulled Colby within five at 31-26 at halftime.

Keagan Dunbar and McCrum hit three-pointers at the start of the third quarter to put the Mules ahead, but Russell responded with a three-pointer to reclaim the lead for the Pride. After another three-pointer by McCrum, Regis scored six straight points, starting with a traditional three-point play by Bitinaitis, to pull ahead, 40-35.

It was Regis with the final points of the quarter as Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.) hit a layup as time ran out to extend the Pride lead to 46-39. However, the Mules started their comeback with 13 unanswered points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, bookended by three-pointers from Albanese.

The Mules kept the Pride at a safe distance until the final minute when Bitinaitis hit a layup to close the Pride deficit to two at 56-54. After McCrum made one free throw, Veasey hit a jumper to bring Regis within one, but Colby took off enough time in its final possession to prevent the Pride from having a good chance to tie the game.

Dunbar led the Mules with 15 points, while Ainsley Burns finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Colby won despite shooting just 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the field, including 8-of-26 from behind the three-point line, and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the free throw line.

As a team, Regis shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the field and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free throw line. Colby enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 41-37, and scored 19 points off 17 Regis turnovers, while the Pride scored 16 points off 18 turnovers by the Mules.

Regis (0-2) does not play again until next Sunday, Nov. 25, against Keene State in Keene, N.H., starting at 2 p.m. The Pride's home opener takes place Wednesday, Nov. 28, against Westfield State beginning at 6 p.m. at Higgins Court.