PREVIEW: REGIS COLLEGE HAS TWO CONFERENCE GAMES REMAINING IN REGULAR SEASON

WESTON, Mass.—With just two regular season conference games remaining, the fifth place Regis College women’s basketball team will host Nichols College (Feb. 16) before traveling to Anna Maria (Feb. 19) to finish its 2010-11 conference schedule.

The top eight teams qualify for the conference postseason that begins in late February. This would be the fourth consecutive time Regis College has been eligible for postseason play. In the Pride’s first year making the quarterfinals it had the task of playing Nichols College, which it will face Wednesday.

Regis College will enter its match-up with the Bison with the fourth best scoring offense in the conference. Posting 65.5 points per game, Regis College is scoring +2.7 PPG better than the seventh ranked Bison. Stephanie Crawford lands in the top 10 in points per game in the TCCC, averaging 14.0 PPG. She has led the Pride for much of the season. Teammates Alex Chace and Claire Ramonas also rank in the conference in points per game. Chace averages 11.0, while Ramonas tallies 10.4 points per game.

Nichols does have two top 10 conference scorers in second ranked Jessica Nelson with 17.6 PPG. Teammate Ashley Robidoux chimes in with 15.7 points per game. Nelson is -5.3 PPG behind the conference leader.

Robidoux has tallied a game-high seven times this season, with her best performance being a three-game performance in which she scored 24 points. Nelson had nine games scoring the game-high, and a season-high 25 points versus Skidmore. The pair also tied in points in several games.

The teams are almost identical in terms of field goal percentage. With Regis having a slight advantage averaging 40.2 percent from the field, Nichols is making 39.3 percent of its attempts.

Nichols has dipped a bit from its TCCC Championship run during 2007-08 season. Considering that drop on paper, the Bison are still very much a TCCC postseason contender. Regis College and Nichols should be a tough battle, as both will be vying for postseason positioning.

Statistically, both programs are near identical in practically every category.

Following what is expected to be a close and physical game, Regis College will travel to Anna Maria for its final regular season game.

Anna Maria is 1-10 in conference play at the moment, and has some trouble scoring. Averaging just 49.2 points per game ranks the AMCats No. 12 in the conference, and give up just shy of 70 points per game.

Samantha Ashton and Chelsea Blair lead the program in points per game with 13.5 and 10.1 points, respectively. Ashton is second in field goal percentage (.399). Blair holds the top position making 48.1 percent of her attempts.

The AMCats pair also leads the team in rebounds with 8.0 for Blair, and 6.6 rebounds per game for Ashton. Defensively, Anna Maria is second in blocks (53) on the season.

Anna Maria is capable of holding its own, but a persistent offensive attack by the Pride will limit Anna Maria’s opportunities at staying in the game.

If Regis College plays solid on both ends of the court Anna Maria should be conference win. The Pride cannot play down to the opponent, or play out of its abilities. Head coach Julie Plant and assistant coach Alyssa Whitney put together a game plan that is drawn to Regis’ strengths. The Pride needs to follow that plan for a spot in the TCCC postseason.