Pride Women’s Hoop Starts New Year with GNAC Road Victory

NASHUA, N.H. – Regis College rallied back from an early deficit, using significant scoring runs in the second and third quarters to defeat Rivier University, 83-74, Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball game at Muldoon Gymnasium.

Madi Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.) notched her first career double-double with season-high totals of 26 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 12-for-16 from the free throw line. Pam Gonzalez (Revere, Mass.) also earned a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and four steals. Jordyn Striggles (Bridgewater, Mass.) collected 13 points and four assists, and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) added a game-high 16 rebounds as the Pride dominated the boards, 54-29.

Regis scored the first four points of the game on baskets by Zancan and Striggles, but Hannah Muchemore scored Rivier's first six points to tie the game. Five straight points from Gonzalez helped the Pride open a 13-6 advantage, but the Raiders closed out the first quarter with a 15-2 scoring run, capped by three-pointers from Lyric Grumblatt and Alexa Dufries, to pull ahead, 21-15.

Gonzalez opened the second quarter with a three-pointer as Regis pulled to within one, but Grumblatt responded with a three-pointer to extend the Rivier lead back to five at 26-21. The Pride put together a 14-2 scoring run to take control of the game, with a putback by Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) giving Regis a 37-32 advantage heading into halftime.

After Anna Stenger hit a layup to bring the Raiders within four at 42-38 in the third quarter, the Pride rattled off a 19-5 scoring run to extend their advantage to 61-43 late in the period. Dufries hit a three-pointer in the final minute to cut Rivier's deficit to 15 points heading into the fourth quarter.

Zancan converted a traditional three-point play to give Regis a 67-51 lead three minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Raiders made one final comeback attempt, starting with a 10-2 scoring run in the span of just over one minute. After baskets by Gonzalez and Striggles, Grumblatt hit consecutive three-pointers and Muchemore followed with two free throws and a three-pointer to close the Raider deficit to three points at 75-72, but the Pride went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:15 of regulation to close out the contest.

Rivier (6-6, 3-1 GNAC) was led by Grumblatt with 27 points thanks in part to seven made three-pointers, while Muchemore finished with 17 points, 11 assists, and five steals. As a team, the Raiders shot 33.3 percent (24-for-72) from the field, including 12-for-33 from behind the three-point line, and 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the free throw line, plus they scored 34 points off 28 Regis turnovers.

The Pride shot 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the field and 75.7 percent (28-for-37) from the free throw line. The 28 made free throws are the most by Regis in a single game in seven years and one day when the Pride made 28 free throws during a victory over Saint Joseph's College Jan. 2, 2016.

Regis College (3-6, 3-0 GNAC) heads to New Haven, Conn., to face Albertus Magnus Thursday, Jan. 5, for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The Pride then host University of Saint Joseph Saturday, Jan. 7, beginning at 1 p.m., the first of three straight home games for Regis.