NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University women's basketball completed its undefeated conference regular season with a 67-29 win over visiting Gordon College and earned the No. 1 seed in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Championships beginning Tuesday.
The Seahawks (22-3; 13-0 TCCC) started five seniors because rules would not allow them to start all seven. The game started with Gordon freshman forward Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) hitting a 3-pointer for an early lead for the Scots.
Seahawk senior forward Olivia Browning (Trumbull, Conn.) followed with a layup and then fellow senior Kimberly Horan (Webster, Mass.) connected on a 3-pointer and Salve Regina had the lead for good.
Three of the seniors finished in double-figure scoring, led by forward Erin Phillips (Morristown, N.J.) with a game-high 16 points coming off the bench. Senior guard Liane Barone (Johnston, R.I.) hit a 3-pointer for a five-point bulge (12-7 with 11:28 remaining in first half) before senior Victoria Audet (Broad Brook, Conn.) grabbed a miss and put it back for a seven-point lead (18-11).
Once sophomore point guard Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) converted a Phillips steal into a layup (22-11 at 6:35 mark) , the Seahawks enjoyed a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Meghan Averill (Newfields, N.H.) finished the first half with two 3-pointers and every Seahawk senior playing contributed to the offense. Only senior Jessie Barowski (Merrimack, N.H.) was unable to play due to a season-long injury.
Head coach Cori Hughes shared her thoughts on her senior class with the audience before tip-off: "I admire their pursuit - not of perfection - rather of improvement as players and people everyday. Ladies, this is especially hard for me because we were all freshmen together; my first year at Salve was your first year at Salve ... Working with you has made me a better coach; knowing you has made me a better person."
Horan and Browning finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively, while three different Fighting Scots (2-23; 1-12 TCCC) topped their scoring list with six points apiece - Catey Marshall (St. Johnsonsbury, Vt.), Sara Schwanke (Dusbury, Mass.), and Kayla Pacheco (Sutton, Mass.).
No. 1 Salve Regina hosts No. 8 Curry College in the TCCC Championships on Tuesday (7 p.m.).
Newspaper Box Score
Gordon vs Salve Regina
02/19/11 1:00 pm at Newport, R.I. - Rodgers Rec. Ctr.
At Newport, R.I. - Rodgers Rec. Ctr.
SALVE REGINA 67, GORDON 29
GORDON (2-23; 1-12 TCCC)
Kayla Pacheco 1-10 4-10 6; Catey Marshall 2-7 2-2 6; Sara Schwanke 3-8 0-0
6; Lauren Kranyak 2-9 0-0 5; Becca Berman 2-6 0-0 4; Kirsten Weld 1-4 0-0 2;
Clancey Adams 0-1 0-0 0; Amy Rosen 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 11-49 6-12 29.
SALVE REGINA (22-3; 13-0 TCCC)
Erin Phillips 8-15 0-0 16; Kimberly Horan 5-15 0-0 14; Olivia Browning 3-8
4-4 10; Lindsay Shorey 1-2 4-7 6; Victoria Audet 3-5 0-0 6; Meghan Averill
2-4 0-0 6; Liane Barone 2-5 0-0 5; Kaitlyn Birrell 1-1 0-0 2; Taylor Windwer
1-1 0-0 2; Marissa Pendergast 0-0 0-0 0; Kaitlin Niedmann 0-0 0-0 0; Lisa
Bucci 0-0 0-0 0; Kira Murphy 0-2 0-0 0; Allison Pigoga 0-1 0-0 0; Sarah
Averill 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 8-11 67.
Gordon 16 13 29
Salve Regina 33 34 67
3-point goals--Gordon 1-8 (Lauren Kranyak 1-5; Sara Schwanke 0-2; Clancey
Adams 0-1), Salve Regina 7-24 (Kimberly Horan 4-13; Meghan Averill 2-4;
Liane Barone 1-3; Kira Murphy 0-2; Sarah Averill 0-1; Erin Phillips 0-1).
Fouled out--Gordon-None, Salve Regina-None. Rebounds--Gordon 30 (Catey
Marshall 6), Salve Regina 46 (Kimberly Horan 8; Olivia Browning 8).
Assists--Gordon 7 (Sara Schwanke 4), Salve Regina 17 (Kaitlyn Birrell 4;
Meghan Averill 4). Total fouls--Gordon 7, Salve Regina 9. Technical
fouls--Gordon-None, Salve Regina-None. A-535