LEICESTER, Mass. - The Mitchell College women's basketball team suffered a 72-53 setback at Becker College on Saturday afternoon at Leicester Gym.
Chelsea Joubert scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting to pace Becker. The Hawks got their first win of the season and improved to 1-8 overall with a 1-2 record in the NECC standings. The Mariners fell to 1-8 with a 0-3 mark in the conference.
The Hawks opened the game on a 5-0 run, holding the Mariners scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the contest. Sharp-shooting from freshman Zilka Navarro helped spark a 7-1 rally by the visitors to take the lead.
Joubert had the hot hand for Becker from the opening minutes, scoring seven of the team's first 15 points. She finished the period with 18 points while shooting 8-for-15. Both squads played tightly for much of the first half, with neither team leading by more than five until a late 8-0 push by the Hawks gave the home team a 14-point advantage, capped off by a fast-break layup from Joubert. The Hawks went into halftime with a 40-29 edge.
The Hawks opened strong in the second half, taking a 45-29 lead on a layup from Tatiana Mojica. Becker continued to outplay Mitchell at both ends of the floor, building on its lead with tough rebounding and fast-break baskets, and ultimately opening up a 24-point lead on a jumper from Karena Prescott.
In addition to leading the team in scoring, Joubert had seven rebounds and a team-high three steals. Kristina Desnoyers filled up the stat line with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists, all while shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Haley Ooms was dominant on the boards, pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds to trigger several Becker fast-breaks. Ooms also racked up six points and six assists.
Mitchell's offense was spearheaded by Navarro, who finished with 18 points on the day. Freshman Sheanna James racked up 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists while senior Bianca Young added 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
Mitchell returns to action at Wheelock College on Tuesday, January 10 at 7 p.m.