Regis Women’s Basketball Pulls Away for Home Opener Win

WESTON, Mass. – Four players reached double figures in scoring for Regis College as the Pride overcame a sluggish third quarter, pulling away to defeat Fisher College, 60-44, Wednesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.

Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) shot 7-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line, as she finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Fellow freshman Mackenzie Emery (Standish, Maine) did most of her scoring damage from the free throw line, hitting 8-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe as she collected 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Fisher scored the first basket of the game on a jumper by Lauren Allen, but that would be the only lead of the night for the Falcons, as Regis scored the next six points and never fell behind again. Taking an 11-8 lead into the second quarter, the Pride opened the period with a 12-1 scoring run, capped by a three-pointer from Shannon Kelley (Quincy, Mass.). Kelley hit another three-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter to give Regis a 28-15 halftime advantage.

The Falcons closed to within three at 29-26 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter thanks to an 11-1 scoring run, punctuated by a traditional three-point play from Jenny-Lynn Eggers. After Regis extended its lead back to nine at 37-28, Fisher cut its deficit to four at 39-35 on a three-pointer by Vivian Lara, but Kelley found Gonzalez for a layup with nine seconds left in the period to give the Pride a 41-35 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Fisher was behind by just three at 44-41 less than two minutes into the final period on a jumper by Allen, but the Pride pulled away, starting with a three-pointer from Gonzalez. Regis eventually scored 11 unanswered points to increase its lead into double figures, closing out its second consecutive victory.

Eggers shot 7-of-9 from the field as she led the Falcons with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Lara ended up with 13 points and seven boards. As a team, Fisher shot 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the field, including 1-of-15 from behind the three-point line, and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the free throw line.

The Pride hit 36.4 percent (20-of-55) of its field goal attempts, including 6-of-16 from behind the three-point line, and 70 percent (14-of-20) of its free throw opportunities. Regis won the rebounding battle, 40-31, plus the team settled down after halftime, committing only five turnovers in the second half after 14 first half turnovers.

Fisher (4-5) will look to snap its four-game losing streak with home games against Bryant & Stratton of Albany Friday, Nov. 22, at 6 p.m. and against Berkeley College of New York Saturday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m.

Regis (2-4) hosts WPI Saturday, Nov. 23, with a 3 p.m. scheduled start, as it will be the second game of a basketball doubleheader at Higgins Court following the Pride men facing Curry. At halftime of the women's game, new banners signifying the retired numbers of Julie Rando Ranucci '94 and Jen Erickson Baker '95 will be unveiled.