Women’s Hoop Cruises to Second Straight GNAC Road Win

NASHUA, N.H. ­– Regis College controlled all areas of the game Saturday in defeating Rivier University, 75-33, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's collegiate basketball game at Muldoon Gymnasium.

Taylor Iorfino (Monroe, Conn.) shot 10-of-18 from the field as she scored a career-high 22 points, plus she earned seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocked shots. Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and three blocked shots, Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and six assists, and Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) contributed eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Regis scored the first six points of the game and never looked back, putting together a 12-4 run later in the first quarter to extend its lead to 22-8. Rivier's Jaden Smith hit a three-pointer in the final minute of the period, but Bitinaitis collected a rebound and putback as time ran out to give the Pride a 24-11 lead heading into the second quarter.

Neither team made a field goal in the second quarter until Cydney Lessard hit a three-pointer over two minutes into the period. Iorfino scored six straight points as the Pride pulled away from the Raiders, eventually taking a 40-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Pride opened the third quarter with a 14-3 scoring run as Iorfino and Searcy scored all Regis points during that stretch. After Arianna Motivala scored consecutive baskets for Rivier, Searcy and Iorfino connected on back-to-back layups, and Kasey Britton-Doucette (New Boston, N.H.) hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the period to give Regis a 62-27 lead after three quarters.

Regis outscored Rivier in the fourth quarter, 13-6, led by Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.), who scored all six of her points and pulled down four of her seven rebounds. The Pride finished with their highest point total of the season while holding their opponent under 40 points for the second straight game and third time overall this year.

Lessard led the Raiders with 14 points, while Motivala scored eight points and Alexandra Grumblatt pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. However, Rivier (4-10, 0-3 GNAC) shot just 16.9 percent (10-of-59) from the field, but the Raiders did make 71.4 percent (10-of-14) of their free throw attempts.

As a team, the Pride shot 41.9 percent (31-of-74) from the field, including 5-of-15 from behind the three-point line, and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the free throw line. Regis controlled the glass with a 54-38 rebound edge, including 19 offensive boards that led to 18 second chance points. The Pride earned 18 assists while committing just 12 turnovers, and they scored 29 points off 21 Rivier turnovers.

Regis (8-8, 2-1 GNAC) plays its final regular season non-conference game of the year at Rhode Island College Wednesday, Jan. 22, starting at 7 p.m. The Pride will then begin a four-game homestand Saturday, Jan. 25, against Emmanuel College beginning at 2 p.m.