HOLYOKE, Mass. – Southern Vermont College was able to bounce back from a slow start Thursday night to overtake Bay Path University and claim a 50-44 win in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball action at Holyoke Community College's Bartley Center.

After the Mountaineers scored just six points in the opening quarter, they cut their deficit to go into the locker room down 23-20. SVC then outscored the Wildcats by nine through the final 20 minutes to pull ahead and take the league victory.

The Mountaineers (3-12, 2-4 NECC) are back at home for their next game as SVC hosts Mitchell College at 1 p.m. on Saturday for an NECC tilt.

Southern Vermont junior Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) chalked up her third-straight double-double and her seventh of the season as she tallied game-highs of 19 points and 22 rebounds while adding four steals and three assists to her line; her boards mark ties for the eighth-most rebounds in NCAA Division III this year and is the most for an NECC player this season.

SVC sophomore Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) registered 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and freshman Brenna Hudson (Malone, N.Y.) had another 11 points in addition to her seven boards, four steals, and three assists.

The Mountaineers went 20-59 (33.9 percent) from the floor while Bay Path was right behind with a 32.8 percent (19-58) clip on field goal attempts. Both sides pulled down 43 rebounds as SVC outscored the Wildcats 24-18 in the paint.

Neither team could find its offensive groove in the opening quarter as BPU went up 11-2 before nearly four minutes of scoreless action brought the frame into the final minute. Four points to close out the first then started a 10-2 Mountaineer run which was highlighted by seven from Main and an old-fashioned 3-point play by junior captain Kayla Emmi (Syracuse, N.Y.). After the visitors took a brief lead at 19-18, the Wildcats used back-to-back baskets to go into the break on top by three.

Four Mountaineers dropped a basket once play resumed as 10 unanswered points put SVC on top 30-23. Bay Path answered with a fast 7-0 run, and the game would go to the final quarter with the hosts clinging to a 33-32 edge. That would be the last Wildcat lead of the night, however, as a Main triple helped Southern Vermont start the fourth with an 8-2 spurt. Six unanswered gave SVC its biggest lead of the contest (46-37), and the Mountaineers were able to hold off BPU through the final 2:21 to secure the win.

– #LetsGoSVC –