Regis Women’s Hoop Pulls Away for GNAC Victory

WESTON, Mass. – After a close defensive battle in the first half, Regis College maintained its defensive intensity while finding its flow offensively to pull away with a 72-38 victory over Elms College Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) notched her fourth double-double within the last five games, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocked shots. Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) collected a season-high 15 points, plus she dished out four assists without committing a turnover, while Shannon Kelley (Quincy, Mass.) hit 5-of-7 shots from behind the three-point line for a career-high 15 points along with six rebounds and three assists.

Within the opening two minutes, the Pride scored the first seven points of the game on a three-pointer by Doherty and consecutive layups from Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Down 9-2 after a layup by Gonzalez, Elms prevented Regis from scoring any points the rest of the first quarter while collecting six points of its own, capped by a three-pointer from McKenzie Huria, to close to within one at 9-8 after the first 10 minutes of the contest.

Regis put together a 9-2 run in the second quarter to open an eight-point advantage, but once again the Blazers stopped the Pride offense for a period of time, closing to within five at halftime on two made free throws from Rahmia Johnston. Elms stayed with Regis through the first six-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter, closing to within three at 33-30 on layups by Aiyanalee Lopez and Angelica Peguero-Flores.

Starting with a layup by Gonzalez, the Pride rattled off 12 unanswered points over the final 3:26 of the third quarter, punctuated by a traditional three-point play from Gonzalez at the buzzer. Gonzalez and Kelley began the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers as Regis hit all six long distance shots it attempted in the final period, outscoring the Blazers 27-8 in the fourth quarter to clinch its second league victory in as many games.

Peguero-Flores led the Blazers with 10 points, two steals, and two blocked shots, while Johnston finished with eight points and five rebounds. As a team, Elms shot just 28.6 percent (14-of-49) from the field and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the free throw line.

Thanks to 54.8 percent field goal shooting after halftime, the Pride shot a season-high 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field, including 11-of-20 from behind the three-point line, and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the free throw line. Along with Gonzalez, Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) also pulled down 12 rebounds as Regis won the rebounding battle, 47-26, plus the Pride took better advantage of its opponent's mistakes, scoring 24 points off 15 Elms turnovers while the Blazers scored just 10 points off 15 Regis turnovers.

Regis College (3-4, 2-0 GNAC) hosts Saint Joseph's College Wednesday night, Dec. 8, starting at 8 p.m. at Higgins Court. The Monks are also the next opponent for Elms College (5-2, 2-2 GNAC), with the Blazers hosting the conference matchup next Saturday, Dec. 11, beginning at 12 p.m.