Wildcats Land Nighthawks 68-46

BROOKLINE, Mass.-The Newbury College women's basketball team fell to Bay Path College, 68-46 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action, Thursday evening. Junior guard Justine Hook (Berwick, Penn.) paved the way to the Wildcats third victory of the season notching a game-high 17 points while dishing out four assists.

First year forward Jere St. Lewis (Bensalem, Penn.) put the Nighthawks on the scoreboard first turning a Wildcat turnover into a quick two points seconds into the contest. After Bay Path junior forward Kayla Skiffington (East Longmeadow, Mass.)  knotted up the game on their next possession, Newbury spurned off five straight points which included a long range trey by first year guard Alex Pezzella (Rockland, Mass.) to take a 7-2 lead. However, the Wildcats clawed their way back.

Trailing by three midway through the first period, Bay Path went on a four-minute, 13-0 run. During the run, Hook was nearly unstoppable netting seven of the Wildcats' 13 points including two treys. With just under eight minutes left in the half, Hook picked the pocket of the Nighthawks and found sophomore guard Toni Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) open for the fast-break lay-up to put the Wildcats up by 17-9. The Wildcats never looked back and went into the locker room with a commanding 25-19 lead.

When the teams emerged the Nighthawks began to chip away at the six point deficit.  Junior forward Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) led the way battling Wildcat defenders in the post, netting team half-high seven of her nine points while senior center Catherine O'Connell (Quincy, Mass.) atoned from a slow first half to register her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds.

But it was not enough  as  the Wildcats continued to build on their lead. Senior guard Brittney Alexander(Enfield, Conn.) came off the Bay Path bench and drained a team-high 13 of her 14 points in the second half to seal the deal for the Wildcats. Sophomore guard Katherine Chabot (Brookfield, Mass.) rounded out the Wildcats in double figures notching 10 points.

Newbury falls to  5-6 and 3-1 in conference while Bay Path pushes their winning streak to four games improving to 6-4 and 3-1 in NECC action. The Nighthawks will look to return to their winning ways when they travel down the road Lesley University on Saturday January 12 at 4:30 p.m. while the Wildcats will also be in action on Saturday on the road in Nashua, N.H. for a 2:00 p.m. tilt against Daniel Webster.