Women’s Hoop Falls to New England College

WESTON, Mass. - Regis College could not maintain its offensive momentum from the first quarter as New England College came from behind to defeat the Pride, 58-52, Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Madi Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.) shot 8-for-11 from the field as she led the Pride with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Jordyn Striggles (Raynham, Mass.) hit three three-pointers as she finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Haley Lightbody (Reading, Mass.) stuffed the stat sheet with five points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a game-high five steals.

After Zancan scored the first two points of the game, the Pilgrims went on a 7-2 scoring run, with Amya Moss scoring five of those points, to pull ahead, 7-4. Zancan hit three layups in a row and Erika Marinelli (Point Pleasant, N.J.) capped an 8-0 Pride run with a basket to give the home team a 12-7 advantage.

After Juliana Hernandez made two free throws to bring the Pilgrims within two points at 13-11, Regis closed out the first quarter with an 8-2 scoring run, capped by consecutive three-pointers from Striggles, to extend its lead to 21-13 heading into the second quarter. New England College started to cut into the Pride lead, featuring back-to-back three-pointers by Macy Gordon late in the first half, as Regis' advantage stood at just two points at halftime, 29-27.

Striggles hit her third three-pointer of the game to extend the Pride lead back to five points early in the third quarter, but the Pilgrims would eventually take the lead for good on baskets by Hernandez and Kathleen Rodriguez. New England College scored the final eight points of the third period to increase its lead to 50-38 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Pride attempted to battle back, but they could not sustain any consistent offense. Regis did close to within five points late in regulation on a layup by Zancan, but New England College made enough free throws in the final minute to hold off the rally.

Rodriguez led New England College with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Hernandez finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. As a team, the Pilgrims shot 37.3 percent (22-for-59) from the field, including 4-for-13 from behind the three-point line, and 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from the free throw line.

After shooting 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from the field in the first quarter, Regis was held to 22.2 percent (8-for-36) field goal shooting in the rest of the game. In addition, New England College won the rebounding battle, 43-36, and scored 22 points off 27 Regis turnovers.

Regis College (6-14, 4-5 GNAC) hosts Rivier University Saturday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m., welcoming back its former players for Alumni Appreciation Day, including Pam Gonzalez '23 as her name is added to the 1,000-point banner at halftime. New England College (10-10, 5-4 GNAC) hosts Mitchell College Saturday beginning at 1:30 p.m.