Women's Basketball Battles By Becker, 78-66
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BATTLES BY BECKER, 78-66
CHICOPEE, MA, Jan. 24, 2009 - Elms College junior forward Amanda Brogna (Oxford, MA) registered a double-double with a game-high, 20-point, 18-rebound effort and the Blazers raced out to a 16-point halftime lead then held off a second half rally to post a 78-66 win over Becker College in Saturday's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at the Maguire Center.
The Blazers won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 6-9 overall, 4-2 NECC. Becker (7-7, 3-3 NECC) had won six of eight, including a 70-64 win over the Blazers 14 days ago.
Brogna reached her sixth straight double-double and ninth this season with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. Senior forward Paige Schneider (Windsor, CT) notched her third double-double of the year with 15 points and 12 rebounds, junior guard Jess Jurkowski (Belchertown, MA) finished with 11 points in 25 minutes and freshman guard Christina Korney (Feeding Hills, MA) added 10 points to all reach double figures in the victory.
Elms College shot 48.6-percent in the opening half to grab a seemingly comfortable 41-25 lead at intermission.
The Blazers led by as many as 18 (51-33) following a jumper by Schneider with 15:51 remaining.
The Hawks, however, slowly whittled away at the deficit and pulled to within 69-60 with 2:48 remaining.
Schneider answered with a layup 28 seconds later to extend Elms College's lead to 71-60.
Becker junior guard Shannon Tibbetts (Warren, MA) knocked down a pair of free throws on the Hawks ensuing possession to make it 71-62, but Brogna grabbed an offensive board on a missed shot then converted the putback to push the Blazers' advantage to 73-62.
Jurkowski then delivered a clutch defensive play with a steal on the Hawks' next possession and Korney converted a layup with 1:22 left to push the Blazers' lead to 75-62 and ensure the victory.
Four of Becker's seven players who appeared in the game reached double figures, including senior center Beth Pion's (Enfield, CT) team-high 16 points, including 12 in the second half. Pion, however, was limited to just 11 first half minutes after picking up two early fouls.
Junior forward Shannon Tibbetts (Warren, MA) finished with 13 points, four assists and four steals, as she played all 40 minutes for the Hawks in the losing effort.
Elms College returns to NECC play when it hosts Bay Path on Tuesday, January 27. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m.