Women's Basketball Falls To Regis In NECC Semis

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

WESTON, Mass. – The Elms College women's basketball team fell to host Regis College, 60-40, in semifinals of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship Tournament at Higgins Court Friday night. The Blazers wrap the season with a 15-12 on the season, while Regis improves to 23-3 overall.

The Pride secured an early 6-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the first quarter, behind four points from sophomore Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.). A layup from Elms junior Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) cut the lead to 6-3, but a three-point play from Stone padded the Regis lead to 10-3. The Blazers closed the period at 10-5 on a jumper from freshman Nakia Mabin (Bridgeport, Conn.).

Elms sophomore Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) drove the lane for a layup to kick off the second quarter, but the Pride remained ahead with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes, powered by four-point efforts from freshman Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.) and sophomore Shannon Hayes (Billerica, Mass.). The Pride created separation with a 9-0 run, fueled by seven points from Stone, to push the Regis advantage to 29-11. The Blazers finished the period on a high note, scoring six unanswered points to head into the intermission trailing Regis, 29-20.

Leading 31-24 at the 7:31 mark of the third quarter, the Pride used a layup from junior Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) followed by a trey from senior Alyssa Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) to build a double-digit advantage, 36-24. Back-to-back layups from LaRochelle trimmed the Pride lead to 37-28 with 4:49 on the clock. The Pride used a 14-2 run over the final minutes of the quarter, paced by eight points from Hawkesworth, to take a 50-30 lead into the final period.

The pace slowed in the final frame with Hawkesworth converting one of two free throws at the 6:46 mark to put Regis ahead 53-31. Elms senior Maira Pantoja (East Windsor, Conn.) canned a three-pointer from the wing, followed by a layup from LaRochelle to make it a 54-37 with four minutes remaining. The Pride converted four straight free throws to grab their largest lead of the game, 60-39, en route to the 60-40 victory.

The Blazers were paced by LaRochelle with a team-high 14 points and a tied team-high seven rebounds off the bench. Burr chipped in nine points while Mabin scored a career-high eight points with a tied team-high seven rebounds. Senior Mariah Brown (Windsor Locks, Conn.) tallied six points and six rebounds in the loss. LaRochelle earned All-Tournament Team honors following the game.

Regis had two players in double figures, led by a game-high 18 points with nine rebounds and four steals. Stone registered a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and D'Angelo netted nine points with five rebounds.

The Pride controlled the rebounding category, 53-33, during the contest. The Blazers connected on 26.8% (15-of-56) from the field, including 16.7% (2-of-12) from three-point range, and 66.7% (8-of-12) from the foul line. Regis shot 33.3% (21-of-63) from the floor, 12.5% (1-of-8) from three-point, and 70.8% (17-of-24) from the free throw stripe.

With the win, Regis will face seventh-seeded Newbury College in the championship game Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The Blazers will wait to see if they receive a berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament to continue their postseason. 

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