Hawks Soar Past Wildcats despite Late Bay Path Surge

HOLYOKE, Mass. - The Wildcats' sophomore guard Brittney Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) and the Hawks' senior forward Heidi Miller (Sanbornton, N.H.) tied for the game high of 14 points apiece.  Despite a late surge by the Wildcats to bring the score within three points (49-46) at 5:54 on the clock, Bay Path fell 61-48 to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opponent Becker College.

Both teams had a rough night with ball handling and passing as they combined for 53 turnovers in the game. Unfortunately for Bay Path, Becker used this to their advantage scoring 33 of their points off of turnovers.

Alexander, who got in foul trouble in the second half was the early spark for the maroon and white. She also finished with three assists, three boards and two steals. Freshman guard Justine Hook (Berwick, Penn.) was a defensive threat tallying eleven boards, five more than any other player. Hook also chipped in nine points, three assists and three steals.

Two other Hawks totaled double figures for the night. Junior guard Kristina Desnoyers (Adams, Mass.) had 12 points and was lethal with her quick hands grabbing seven steals. Freshman forward Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) finished with 11 points. Coming off the bench for Becker, freshman forward Shaylynn Nazario (Newport, R.I.) led her team in rebounds with six and also pitched in eight points.

Bay Path kept the score close in the first half heading into the locker room with 29-23 on the scoreboard. Becker came out strong pulling ahead of the Wildcats by 15 points after ten minutes into the second period. Senior guard Katie Begin (Weare, N.H.) started the surge for Bay Path hitting a jumper at 9:49 on the clock. Key reservist junior Janise Shabazz (New Castle, Delaware) checked in and made an immediate impact scoring the next two buckets.  Shabazz drew a foul completed the three-point conversion bringing the score to 40-48.

Bay Path continued to get stops on defense and senior forward Sam Hahn (Hadley, Mass.) nailed a jumper inside the paint.  Becker would make a trip to the line where freshman Chelsea Joubert (Westborough, Mass.) went 1-and-1 from the charity stripe.

Hahn and Shabazz would then nail two more jumpers to bring the score within three points at just under five minutes on the clock. Freshman guard Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) would nail a major shot from downtown to revive the Hawks. Becker would never look back scoring five more buckets and a free-throw. Alexander would hit a final lay-up in under 20 seconds to close out the game.

Becker is now 5-13 overall and 3-7 in the NECC, Bay Path remains 0-21 and is 0-13. Becker will host Daniel Webster Tuesday, February 8^th at 7:00 p.m. in another conference match-up, while Bay Path gets the NECC bye traveling to play Mount Ida in Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.