WESTON, Mass. – Led by a strong team effort, the Regis College women's basketball team's matched a season-high seven game winning streak with a 68-44 victory over New England Collegiate Conference opponent Wheelock College in a physical affair Tuesday Night on Higgins Court. The victory pushes the Pride's record to 14-2, 10-0 NECC and the loss drops the Wildcats record to 12-4, 8-2 NECC.
Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) recorded her third straight double-double and her fifth of the season with a game-high 19 points and team-best 15 rebounds. Senior guard Alyssa Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) added 11 points of her own with a game-high four steals while also adding four caroms and three assists.
The victory over Wheelock was the Pride's 70th straight conference victory. The squad's last NECC setback came against Daniel Webster College on February 24, 2012 in the NECC Semifinals.
The Crimson and Gold dominated the painted area as they outscored the Wildcats 48-18 in the lane. Regis, the best team in NCAA Division III in rebound margin, out rebounded Wheelock by 14 boards.
Wheelock led for 18 seconds in this contest as they tallied the first points of the game. Freshman forward Katie Walsh (East Islip, N.Y.) was fouled by Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, Mass.) and made two freebies to give the Wildcats the early 2-0 lead. Regis took the lead after the frontcourt duo of Stone and Hawkesworth each converted layups in the low post.
The Wildcats would come within one after a three point play by junior guard Brianna Hochwarter (Attleboro, Mass.) with 5:05 left in the first quarter. Over the next few minutes Regis would go on a 9-1 run spurned by a three point play from sophomore guard Shannon Hayes (Billerica, Mass.) to put the hosts up eight, 19-11 with 55 seconds left, but Wheelock would add two more points via free throws to close the gap to 19-13 at the end of one.
Hawkesworth had an outstanding first quarter as she scored six points and corralled nine rebounds.
The second quarter only saw 16 points combined from the two squads as both teams struggled to get into gear. Regis built their first double digit lead of the contest after Hayes and Hawkesworth made layups. Wheelock would respond with a 9-3 run to close out the half with junior forward Michelle Woods (Wilmington, Mass.) tallying seven of the nine Wildcat points to cut their deficit to four, 26-22 at the intermission.
Brianna Hochwarter started off the second half hot making two three-balls from the top of the post to come within a point, but Alyssa Lanpher answered with a jumper from elbow on Regis' next trip down the floor. Lanpher was a crucial cog in the third quarter as she tallied seven of her 11 points after the break.
Regis built the lead back up to two possessions before junior guard Jamie Grzych (Columbia, Conn.) scored four straight points to knot up the contest at 38 all with 1:38 to play. The Pride then went on to score the final seven points of the period as Hawkesworth and freshman forward Sam D'Angelo (Woburn, Mass.) made layups and Lanpher buried a three-pointer from corner assisted by teammate Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) before the buzzer sounded. Regis built up a seven point, 45-38 lead after three.
Wheelock would go cold in the fourth quarter as they only scored six points and made 2-of-13 (15.3%) from the field. Hawkesworth and Stone would feast down low as they carved up the Wildcats defensive unit even after being double-teamed. The frontcourt partners scored seven points apiece in the final quarter and took the last regular season meeting between these two teams.
Brittany Stone scored 13 points and snagged five rebounds in the win, while Shannon Hayes scored nine points and grabbed five caroms. Junior guard Mikayla Murphy (Attleboro, Mass.) filled up the stat sheet again with a game-high six assists and added four rebounds, three points and three steals.
Katie Walsh came down with a game-high 16 rebounds, while Jamie Grzych and Brianna Hochwarter scored 13 points apiece for the Wildcats.
The Crimson and Gold shot 46.2% (30-of-65) from the floor opposed to Wheelock's 27.7% (13-of-47) shooting.
Regis returns to the hardwood on Thursday when they travel to Mitchell for a 6:00 p.m. tip off while Wheelock hosts Becker on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.