NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's basketball team couldn't overcome a rough shooting night and suffered a 45-40 setback to Becker College in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) match-up on Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Chelsea Joubert scored 13 points to lead Becker (9-15 overall, 8-9 NECC) while Haley Ooms recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks held a commanding 53-34 edge on the glass and shot 30 percent for the contest.
Mitchell (6-17 overall, 6-11 NECC) shot just 20 percent from the floor but forced 29 turnovers to stay in the game. Freshman Amanda Garcia led all scorers with 15 points while classmate Savannah Boyle came off the bench to add eight.
The Mariners struggled right from the start, missing on their first nine field goal attempts. The Hawks took full advantage, building a 12-1 lead over the opening five minutes before Garcia finally finished off a put-back for Mitchell's first basket of the night. Ooms and Tatiana Mojica each had four points during the stretch to pace Becker.
The Hawks led 16-6 following a jumper by Tarisha Renaud with 10:15 remaining in the half, but both offenses struggled over the next 10 minutes. Mitchell scored seven of the final nine points of the stanza and whittled the deficit down to 18-13 by the break. Becker shot 29 percent in the half while Mitchell checked in at 16 percent.
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Mariners clawed back to within four at several points but could never get over the hump. Becker eventually built the lead to as many as nine following a jumper by Joubert with 5:06 to go, but Mitchell rallied behind back-to-back baskets by senior Suzie Barbosa to make it 39-34 with 3:27 remaining.
After Brooke Martel buried a jumper to put Becker up by seven, Mitchell answered with six straight points to pull within one at 41-40 with 16.7 seconds to play. The Mariners quickly fouled and put Ooms on the line for two, and she calmly sank both to extend the margin to three. Mitchell called a timeout after advancing the ball to midcourt, but the ensuing inbounds play resulted in a turnover and an easy lay-up for Joubert to ice the game.
Becker was clutch from the free throw line, converting on all 11 attempts in the game. Joubert scored five of her 13 points at the charity stripe and also finished with five rebounds. Ooms recorded three assists and three steals to go along with her double-double. Mojica had eight points, five rebounds and three assists despite playing in foul trouble for most of the second half.
Junior Kate Mulloy led Mitchell on the boards with 10 rebounds and also blocked three shots. Barbosa finished with seven points.
Both teams will wrap up the regular season with home games on Saturday, February 16. Mitchell will host Wheelock College at 3 p.m. while Becker will face Bay Path College at 1 p.m.