Pride Women’s Hoop Earns Home GNAC Victory, 68-63

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College once again got off to a hot start and then held off a rally by the University of Saint Joseph, as the Pride defeated the Blue Jays, 68-63, Friday evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) shot 11-for-20 from the field, including three three-pointers, as she led all players with 28 points, plus she collected nine rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) scored a season-high 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds, and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) scored eight points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds.

Gonzalez opened the scoring with a three-pointer as the Pride rattled off 12 straight points in the first four minutes of the contest. After USJ finally broke through with baskets by Maya Slisz and Jordan Ouellette, the two teams traded points the rest of the first quarter as Regis maintained a 21-13 advantage heading into the second period.

The Pride answered a three-pointer from Amanda Fudge with a layup by Arie Searcy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and a three-pointer from Gonzalez to extend the Regis lead back to 12 at 30-18. The Blue Jays closed out the first half with a 10-3 scoring run, capped by consecutive baskets from Ouellette and Slisz, to cut their deficit to five at 33-28 at halftime.

Jelly Frigo hit a layup in the first minute of the third quarter to bring USJ within three at 33-30, and then a jumper by Ouellette further closed the gap to two points at 40-38 four minutes into the second half. The Pride responded with their own 10-3 scoring run, led by Gonzalez with six points, to increase their lead back to nine at 50-41 late in the third period.

Gonzalez hit a three-pointer and a layup to give Regis a 59-48 lead early in the fourth quarter, but USJ made one final charge, putting together a 9-2 scoring run capped by a three-pointer from Fudge to close to within four at 61-57 with 3:46 left in regulation. Gonzalez stopped the USJ threat with a traditional three-point play as Regis would go on to earn its fourth victory in the last five games.

Fudge finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, while Slisz also scored 17 points and Ouellette contributed 16 points and five rebounds. As a team, the Blue Jays shot 37.7 percent (26-for-69) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from the free throw line, plus they scored 16 points off 18 Regis turnovers.

The Pride shot 36.2 percent (25-for-69) from the field and 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from the free throw line. Regis won the rebounding battle, 51-38, including 21 offensive rebounds leading to 19 second chance points.

Regis College (7-7, 6-2 GNAC) heads to Providence, R.I., to face Johnson & Wales Tuesday, Feb. 1, starting at 5:30 p.m. University of Saint Joseph (10-7, 6-4 GNAC) hosts Dean College Tuesday beginning at 5 p.m.