Women’s Hoop Extends Winning Streak to Three Games

WESTON, Mass. - Regis College quickly recovered from an early deficit, using tight defense to force 31 turnovers on its way to a 76-58 victory over Mitchell College Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Madi Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.) led the Pride with 25 points as she shot 11-for-23 from the field, plus she earned seven rebounds and four steals. Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) collected 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, Jordyn Striggles (Raynham, Mass.) earned 12 points and seven rebounds, and Haley Lightbody (Reading, Mass.) added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four steals.

Mitchell scored the first six points of the game as it held Regis without a field goal for the first four minutes of the contest. The Pride rattled off 14 straight points over a two-minute span midway through the opening period, capped by a jumper from Bella George (Lynnfield, Mass.), to pull ahead with a lead it would hold the rest of the way.

The Pride was able to extend their lead into double figures in the second quarter, including a three-pointer from Striggles late in the period to give Regis a 37-23 halftime advantage. In the third quarter, Regis put together a 14-4 scoring run, capped by a three-pointer from Jillian Perry (Melrose, Mass.), to open its largest lead of the game at 55-35.

Down 65-45 three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Mariners attempted to rally back, outscoring the Pride 13-2 over the next four minutes with Inonda Peterson and Yasmine Santos combining for all 13 points during the scoring run. However, Regis would hold Mitchell scoreless during the rest of the game, and layups by Zancan and Lightbody started a 9-0 scoring run that closed out the contest.

Santos, the leading scorer and rebounder in the GNAC entering the game, shot 12-for-23 from the field and 15-for-20 from the free throw line as she finished with 39 points and 13 rebounds. Peterson scored seven points, as did Alexia Watson to go along with 10 rebounds.

As a team, Mitchell shot 39.6 percent (19-for-48) from the field and 69 percent (20-for-29) from the free throw line. On the other side, Regis shot just 32.6 percent (28-for-86) from the field and 75 percent (15-for-20) from the free throw line, but the Pride did accumulate 36 points off 31 Mariner turnovers.

Regis College (5-10, 3-1 GNAC) hosts Norwich University Tuesday, Jan. 16, starting at 5 p.m. at Higgins Court. Mitchell College (2-10, 0-4 GNAC) hosts Elms College at the same time Tuesday.