Falcons Fly Past Wildcats in Season Opener

HOLYOKE, Mass.-Bay Path sophomore guard Brittney Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) led the Wildcats with 12 points despite the tough season home opener loss 72-31 to NCAA DIII regional opponent Albertus Magnus tonight at the Bartley Center on the campus of Holyoke Community College.

Four Falcons scored in the double figures including top scorer freshman guard Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.)finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Carrero took advantage of numerous fast breaks by out hustling the Wildcat defense down the court.

Also scoring in double figures for the Falcons were fellow starters' freshman guard Lindsey Karle (Wallingford, Conn.) and sophomore point guard Shanilya Bush (New Haven, Conn.) combining for 21 points. Coming off the bench producing double digits was freshman guard Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) with eleven points. Head Coach Ed Panzo cleared his bench with all ten players scoring as well as pulling down at least two boards.

Bay Path first year head coach Jessica Huntley also made sure she played her entire bench giving the very young team some much needed collegiate experience.

Senior starting forward Sam Hahn (Hadley, Mass.) led all players defensively grabbing nine boards for the Wildcats. Defensive boards were extremely close for both teams with the Falcons at a one rebound advantage at 30-29, while the Wildcats fell significantly on the offensive second change boards with only nine to the Falcons 18 for the night. The Falcons took advantage of their offensive boards tallying 18 points off of second change shots.

Albertus Magnus took advantage of their quickness scoring 16 of their points off of fast break attempts.

Three freshman Wildcats rounded out the scoring for the night including starting point guard Justine Hook (Berwick, Penn.) with nine points, six boards and two assists. Forward Taylor Riley (Colchester, Vt.) added six points and seven rebounds while key reservist Mercedes Griffith (Malden, Mass.) chipped in four points.