HOLYOKE, Mass.— The Mitchell College women's basketball team locked up the third seed for the upcoming NECC Championship with a 55-34 victory at Bay Path College on Tuesday night at the Bartley Center.
Mitchell improved to 14-8 overall and 11-4 in conference play. Leading the way for the Mariners were senior Alix O'Neil and junior Bianca Young, who tallied 12 and 14 points, respectively. O' Neil also chipped in seven rebounds and three assists while Young added three boards, two assists and three steals. Sophomore Jordon Ringwood came off the bench to lead the team with nine rebounds and also contributed seven points and a game-high six steals.
Bay Path's Justine Hook led all players with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Begin chipped in eight points for the Wildcats, who dropped to 0-25 on the season.
Hook started the game off on fire, nailing three treys in just over three minutes to keep Bay Path in the game for the first half. At 14:08 Begin drained a bucket to bring the score within one point at 12-11.
Senior Allison Peck got the ball rolling for Mitchell, hitting a shot at 13:49 on the clock. Young then made three from the charity stripe in the next few minutes. After Begin broke the momentum with a bucket, Young answered back with a lay-up to put the Mariners up by seven with 8:01 left on the clock.
Mitchell led 31-19 at the half and outscored Bay Path 25-14 over the final 20 minutes to seal the win. Peck finished with seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in the contest.
The win secured the third seed in next week's NECC Championship, which will begin with quarterfinal play on Tuesday, February 22. The Mariners have earned the right to host a quarterfinals match-up.
Mitchell will wrap up the regular season with a road game at Becker College on Saturday, February 19 at a 1 p.m.