WESTON, Mass. – Powered by Amanda Hawkesworth's (Abington, Mass.) second double-double of the season, the Regis College women's basketball team win streak reached four games with a 73-43 victory over Mitchell College in the New England Collegiate Conference opener for both squads on Tuesday evening in Weston. With the win, the Crimson and Gold improve to 4-1, 1-0 NECC on the young season and with the setback, the Mariners drop to 1-2, 0-1 NECC.
Hawkesworth was a force in the paint as she complied 16 points and 11 rebounds. She tallied 12 of her 16 points during the first half on a 5-of-7 shooting performance. Classmate Mikayla Murphy (Attleboro, Mass.) had a solid game running the point as she chipped in a season-high 13 points and four steals while dishing out four assists.
The game was a back and forth affair through the first quarter of play as both teams traded baskets. Following a missed layup by senior forward Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn.), Francesca Pinard (Arlington, Mass.) cleaned up the missed layup and went up strong, high off the glass to give the Mariners an 8-6 advantage with 2:05 left in the period. Regis responded on the next possession when freshman Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) nailed a three-ball from Alyssa Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) to put the Pride upfront for the first time. Mitchell ended the quarter with four points, each on layups by Garcia and Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) to put the Mariners upfront 12-9 after one.
Regis opened the second stanza on a 16-3 run capped off by a layup from Mikalya Murphy (Attleboro, Mass.) to give the Pride a 25-15 lead with 4:40 left in the half. The Crimson and Gold and the Mariners traded buckets throughout the rest of the half as Regis went into the intermission up 32-21.
The third quarter of play was a back and forth affair, like the first half and Mitchell cut their deficit to seven points 38-31 after a pair of Diamond Thomas freebies with 3:20 left. Regis rallied with a 20-4 run over the next six minutes of play into the final quarter extinguishing any hope of a Mariner comeback.
Freshman guard Kate McCormack (Narragansett, R.I.) led all Mariners scorers with nine points, while Diamond Thomas tallied nine points off the bench.
For the Pride, NECC Player of the Week Shannon Hayes (Billerica, Mass.) scored 11 points and corralled six rebounds. Freshman forward Abby Cuddy (Charlestown, R.I.) went 4-of-4 from the field and scored eight points and tallied three rebounds in six minutes of play.
Regis returns to action on Thursday when they travel to Wheelock for an NECC contest with the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m.