Pride Fall in Competitive Non-League Contest

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Regis College showed that it could play with one of the top teams in the region, but Rhode Island College was able to make several plays down the stretch to defeat the Pride, 60-56, Wednesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at the Murray Center.

The Pride starting lineup accounted for all of Regis' points, led by Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Taylor Iorfino (Monroe, Conn.) collected 14 points and six rebounds, Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) finished with 13 points and five rebounds, and Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) added 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Rhode Island College (15-2) jumped out to a 7-1 lead, led by Sophia Guerrier with consecutive baskets. A three-pointer by Gonzalez and a jumper from Iorfino pulled the Pride within one, but the Anchorwomen responded with consecutive three-pointers from Antonia Corsinetti and Izabelle Booth as they took a 17-13 advantage into the second quarter.

The teams traded baskets through the first six minutes of the second quarter before Regis took the lead on layups by Shannon Kelley (Quincy, Mass.) and Gonzalez. However, Rhode Island College jumped back on top thanks to a three-pointer by Maci Dorantes and then used a layup by Willcia McBorrough to extend that lead to 27-24 at halftime.

Guerrier twice increased the Anchorwomen lead to eight early in the third quarter, but Searcy hit a layup followed by four straight free throws after Rhode Island College committed both a personal and a technical foul. Maintaining possession, the Pride tied the game at 34-34 on two free throws by Gonzalez, but the Anchorwomen eventually reestablished a six-point lead.

The Pride cut their deficit to three on a Bitinaitis layup at the end of the third quarter, and then Regis pulled ahead on consecutive baskets by Searcy. Regis would extend its lead to six at 52-46 on a layup by Gonzalez and a three-pointer by Bitinaitis with 4:34 remaining in regulation.

Rhode Island College started its comeback with a Corsinetti three-pointer, and then, after two free throws by Bitinaitis, she would connect on another long distance shot to give the Anchorwomen the lead for good. McBorrough extended the home team's lead to three with a layup, and Corsinetti put the game away with one more three-pointer in the final minute.

Corsinetti hit five three-pointers as she led the Anchorwomen with 15 points, while Guerrier scored 10 points and McBorrough finished with seven points, five rebounds, and six blocked shots. Jordyn Gauvin notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists, and Fataya Larry led all players with 15 rebounds as the Anchorwomen won the battle of the boards, 45-36.

The Anchorwomen shot 40 percent from the field (22-of-55), including 11-of-26 from behind the three-point line. Rhode Island College could not pull away due to poor free throw shooting at 31.3 percent (5-of-16) and subpar ball handling, as the Pride scored 18 points off 15 Anchorwomen turnovers.

As a team, the Pride shot 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the field, including 3-of-12 from behind the three-point line, and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free throw line, including 11-of-12 from the charity stripe in the second half. Regis committed only eight turnovers, its lowest single-game total since Feb. 21, 2017, against Lesley.

Regis (8-9, 2-1 GNAC) plays a home game for the first time in three weeks, hosting Emmanuel College Saturday, Jan. 25, with a scheduled start time of 2 p.m.  That will be the first of four straight home games for the Pride as they play conference contests the rest of the regular season.