"Wildcats" defeat Southern Vermont 64-52 in NECC action

Bay Path Clips Southern Vermont 64-52 in NECC Action

HOLYOKE, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College women's basketball team fell 64-52 at Bay Path University Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at Holyoke Community College.

The Wildcats went up 34-25 at the halftime break before SVC made it just a three-point deficit late in the third quarter. BPU was able to hold off the Mountaineers through the final horn, however, to close out the league victory.

SVC was led offensively by senior captain Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) who had 14 points while adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals to her line. Sophomore Amber Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.) followed with 13 points and provided another four boards and two steals as freshman Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) notched seven points, four rebounds, and a season-best six assists.

BPU senior Brenna Roy (Stafford Springs, Conn.) registered a game-best 23 points on a 6-for-14 performance from outside the perimeter, and she also had four rebounds and two assists for the hosts. Classmate Dallas Jackson (Springfield, Mass.) followed with 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals while sophomore Haleigh Bassett (Millers Falls, Mass.) had 11 points and eight boards. Senior Paige Marshall (New Britain, Conn.) scored eight points and pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds in the win.

Bay Path shot 38.3 percent (23-for-60) from the floor while Southern Vermont finished with a 33.9 percent (19-56) clip on field goal range. The Wildcats had a 46-29 advantage in rebounds, using their 19 on the offensive glass for a 17-11 upper hand in second-chance points. Both teams committed 21 turnovers, but BPU was able to utilize the giveaways to outscore SVC 21-13 in points off turnovers.

Southern Vermont started off with back-to-back three-pointers to take the early lead, freshman Danielle Biggers (Bronx, N.Y.) knocking one down off the tip before Dow hit one of her own. The hot outside shooting continued for the visitors as Lesure connected from downtown for a 9-4 lead, but Bay Path came back to tie it up with the help of Roy trey from the left side. SVC went back up by three when freshman Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) sent in a nice pass from the top of the arc to sophomore Kayla Emmi (Syracuse, N.Y.) down in the post, but Jackson would make a steal-and-score for the final basket of the quarter to make it a 15-14 Wildcat edge.

 Bay Path gained a little more separation in the second— scoring the first five points including a Roy layup which saw her round the top of the paint and drive down an open left side of the court. Lesure drained another triple before Biggers hit her second from the right edge to get SVC within one (23-22). BPU ended the half with eight unanswered points— the last three being when Roy hit a catch-and-shoot bucket from the left side of the arc to give her team a 34-25 upper hand going into the locker room.

 Mallett went coast-to-coast for an easy two early into the third, and Dow then swished home a three from the right side to make it just a 35-32 lead for the Wildcats. After Poirier hit a triple of her own, Bay Path scored the next five to get some separation. The perimeter shooting for SVC continued its success, however, as Lesure dropped one in from the left edge following an offensive rebound to make it a 43-40 Mountaineer deficit. Roy would push it back to six before the end of the quarter— hitting a three at the other end to make it a two-possession game.

 Scoring was traded through most of the fourth as Bay Path slowly increased it to a double-digit lead. Dow used a ball fake at the top of the key to open up her look for a jumper, but Jackson answered with a second-chance basket at the other end to make it a 53-46 ballgame. Forced to foul as time was running out, the Mountaineers sent BPU to the line in an attempt to keep their hopes alive. The Wildcats instead converted on their trips to the charity stripe as they finished off their first league win of the season.

Southern Vermont (1-15, 1-10 NECC) is next in action on Sunday, visiting Lesley University for a 2 p.m.Conference contest. Bay Path (2-13, 1-9 NECC) next lines up with Wheelock College on Saturday, hosting the Wildcats for a 1 p.m. tip.

Story by: Michael Nosek