WESTON, Mass. – Regis College sophomore forward Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) dominated the paint for a career-high 36 points and 24 rebounds as the Pride defeated the Daniel Webster Eagles 90-67 on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action. With the victory, the Pride improve to 13-4, 11-0 NECC and with the loss, the Eagles fall to 3-13, 3-6 NECC.
Hawkesworth set the individual single game scoring record with her 36 points besting the previous mark of 34 set by Jessica Page on January 27, 2007 versus Anna Maria College. Her 24 rebounds also rank as the third most in a game tying Melanie Thistle who grabbed 24 boards versus Roger Williams University on February 1, 1989.
Senior guard Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) continues to move up the program scoring list as her 17 points moved her into fourth place all-time passing Stephanie Crawford (1,223 pts) and Caitlin Connolly (1,229).
The Eagles got on the board with the first points of the contest when freshman guard Natasha Santana (Lawrence, Mass.) made a layup from the paint. The Pride responded by scoring the next 11 points of the contest. Emilee Marro got the Crimson and Gold on the board with a three ball after Santana converted on the layup. Senior forward Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.) scored the next four points during the Regis run making two free throws and converting a fast break layup that was assisted by teammate Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Mass.).
After Eagles junior guard Ashley England (Old Town, Maine) missed a layup, the rebound was corralled by Bradley and then found her outlet, Marro, who drove through the Daniel Webster defense and made a layup. Amanda Hawkesworth ended the Pride run when she made a layup of her own on a fast-break with Marro assisting on the pass.
The Regis advantage grew to 14 points with 13:58 left in the half after Hawkesworth corralled a Marro missed shot and took two layups of her own that missed the mark while also grabbing both of her misses then finally putting the ball into the hoop.
The Eagles kept fighting as they brought the Pride advantage back down seven points after going on a mini 9-2 run. Eagles freshman guard Escarlin Reynoso (Lawrence, Mass.) who scored 17 points off the bench in the first half, made a jumper from outside the paint which cut into the Pride lead.
During the 6:24 mark, Emilee Marro drained a three-pointer that moved her into fourth place on the all-time scoring list and also pushed the Pride advantage to 20, their largest lead of the first half.
The teams kept trading buckets during the final six minutes of play as the Eagles cut the Pride advantage down to 16 points multiple times, but they couldn't get any closer before the buzzer sounded.
Hawkesworth scored 20 of her 36 points during the first half and snagged 15 of her 24 rebounds during the first stanza.
Daniel Webster started out hot during the first five minutes of action during the second half by going on a 10-4 run that cut the Pride advantage to 11 points. Junior forward Natalie Nagle (Dolgeville, N.Y.) began the run with an old fashioned three-point play and Natasha Santana ended it by making a layup from the paint.
Regis responded with a 10-0 run of their own over the next two minutes of play. Amanda Hawkesworth made all four of her free throw attempts. Janaya Bradley also contributed during the run by adding six points by making a three-pointer, foul shot and a layup after a Mikayla Murphy (Attleboro, Mass.) steal.
The Eagles wouldn't go away as they responded by cutting the lead to 12 points by using an 8-0 run. Ashley England started off the run with a jumper; Natalie Nagle made two free throws, England scored three more points using a three-point play and Escarlin Reynoso made a jumper from the elbow that decreased the Pride advantage to 65-53 with 11:33 to go.
Daniel Webster wouldn't get any closer the rest of the way as the Pride played suffocating defense and went up by 26 points near the end of the contest.
Along with Hawkesworth's double-double, Teresa Busiek recorded her first of the season by scoring a season-high 10 points and corralling a career-high 11 rebounds. Janaya Bradley also joined her teammates in double figures scoring 17 points and grabbing four rebounds.
Escarlin Reynoso scored a team-high 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds during the set back. Ashley England added 16 points, snagged five rebounds while dishing out three assists during the loss.
The Pride return to the court on Tuesday when they being a three game road swing at non-conference foe Western Connecticut State with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m. Daniel Webster returns home to take on NECC rival Elms on Tuesday with game-time set for 5:30 p.m.