Women's Basketball Falls To Becker, 65-48
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO BECKER, 65-48
CHICOPEE, MA, Jan. 20, 2007 - Elms College sophomore guard Jenn Payton (Stratford, CT) tallied a team-high 13 points, but Becker College sophomore guard Kristin Karat (Enfield, CT) poured in a game-high 28 points to help the Hawks pull away to a 65-48 win over the Blazers in Saturday's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) women's basketball game at the Maguire Center.
Elms College lost its third straight game and fell to 4-10 overall, 2-5 NAC. Becker, which earned just its second win in 16 all-time meetings against the Blazers, improved to 8-5 overall, 4-4 NAC.
Karat finished 10 of 17 of shooting from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. She also added nine rebounds.
Sophomore forward Beth Pion (Enfield, CT) added the game's only double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks, who held a decisive 56-34 rebounding advantage.
Karat dropped in 15 first half points on 5 of 8 shooting in the opening half for the Hawks, who led by as many as 10 (31-21) with 1:30 remaining before the Blazers scored the final five points to pull to within 31-26 at intermission.
Becker was limited to 34-percent shooting in the first half, but held an 11-4 advantage on the offensive boards.
The Hawks then used a 10-3 run over the first five minutes of the second half to extend its lead to 41-29.
Payton and sophomore forward Erin Hutchinson (Groton, MA) responded with consecutive layups to cut the Blazers deficit to 41-33.
From there, however, Karat answered with her fourth 3-pointer of the game seconds later, and after a defensive stop by Becker, freshman guard Courtney Fiske (Westfield, MA) added a layup as the Hawks built a 46-33 lead and never looked back from there.
Junior point guard Michelle Fernandes (Danbury, CT) added 12 points to also finish in double figures for the Blazers in the loss.
Elms College returns to conference play on Tuesday, January 23 versus Bay Path College. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. at Holyoke Community College.