Wildcats Sneak by Becker, 56-50

LEICESTER, Mass. – Junior forward Kayla Skiffington (East Longmeadow, Mass.) had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead visiting Bay Path College to a 56-50 win over host Becker College in NECC women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Leicester Gym. It was the regular season finale for both teams, with the Wildcats of Bay Path finishing at 12-12 with a 9-9 conference record while the Hawks of Becker drop to 9-16 and 8-10 against NECC opponents.

Bay Path sophomore guard Toni Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) filled the box score with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Katherine Chabot (Brookfield, Mass.) contributed 12 points including two huge baskets in the closing minutes, adding three steals at the defensive end. The Wildcats shot 48.8 percent from the floor, led by Alexander who made six of nine shots and Skiffington who shot 50 percent from the floor.

Becker junior forward Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, Mass.) had a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds on the day. Junior guard Chelsea Joubert (Westborough, Mass.) added 12 points, while junior guard Haley Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) had nine points, eight rebounds, eight assists, six steals and a block.

The Hawks came to play early on, scoring ten of the game's first 13 points with a balanced attack. Becker lead by as much as nine before Bay Path rallied with a 10-2 run capped off with a layup from Chabot, cutting the deficit to one at 20-19 with 6:02 left in the opening period. Joubert would step up, scoring Becker's next six points to put a halt to the Wildcat momentum. The Hawks went into halftime leading 26-22. Mojica sparked the home team with eight first-half points while Chabot had six points to lead the visitors. Becker outscored Bay Path in points off turnovers in the first half, 10-0.

Both teams were physical in the opening minutes of the second period, as the Wildcats took their first lead of the game at 30-29 off a layup from Skiffington with 15:55 remaining in the game. Bay Path outscored Becker 9-2 over the stretch. The final ten minutes of the game devolved into a grind, with both teams trading the lead back-and-forth.

Down by two with 5:15 left, the Wildcats scored three straight baskets by Skiffington, Alexander and Chabot to go up 50-46. Chabot soon followed with another layup to put the visitors up by five, their largest lead of the game up to that point. Becker was unable to close the gap, and Bay Pay held on for the win.

NECC playoff seeds will be announced Monday.