Pride claw past AMCATS on Senior Day, 57-49

PAXTON, Mass. (02.12.11)  – Paced by Sarah McNult's team-high 17 points, Regis College defeated the Anna Maria College women's basketball team, 57-49, during The Commonwealth Coast Conference regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Pride finish the regular season with a mark of 15-10 overall and 9-4 in the conference, while the loss drops the AMCATS to 7-18 on the year and 1-12 during TCCC-play.

As part of Senior Day, Emily Nugent (Worcester, Mass.) was celebrated before playing in her final basketball game as an AMCAT. Emily is a Sports Management major who was also the 2008-2009 Anna Maria College Female Athlete of the Year. She was a four-year varsity starter who finished her career with 637 points. In addition to basketball, Emily is also a member of the women's softball and field hockey teams. 

In addition to her 17 points, McNult added six rebounds and four steals for the Pride. Brittany White was also instrumental in the victory, nearly missing a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds. 

Samantha Ashton (Worcester, Mass.) led the AMCATS with a double-double, scoring a game-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds.  Chelsea Blair (Holland, Mass.) also played well for Anna Maria, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks. 

Anna Maria opened the game with a small 4-0 lead, however Regis responded with an 11-0 run led by four points from Stephanie Crawford. 

The AMCATS then fought back to score six unanswered points, cutting the Pride lead to one.

However, Anna Maria was unable to keep the momentum going, as the Pride strung together a 14-4 run and went into the intermission leading by a score of 30-17.

McNult scored a team-high seven points for the Pride during the opening frame, while White chipped in with five points and six rebounds. 

Ashton did her best to keep the AMCATS in the contest, as she finished with 13 of the AMCATS' 17 points for the half, while also adding five rebounds. 

The Pride were tough to defend in the paint, as they outscored the AMCATS 16-10 in points in the paint while also holding a 7-2 advantage in second chance points. 

After McNult scored the opening basket of the second half, the AMCATS received a three-pointer by Emily Nugent and lay-ups from Ashton, Blair and Kayla Cummings to help cut the Regis lead down to six. However, this was the closest Anna Maria got to tying the score, as Regis regained control of the game en route to the 57-49 victory.

Despite holding a drastic 54%-29% advantage in field-goal percentage over Regis in the second half, Anna Maria was unable to cut into the Pride lead.  Regis benefited from several AMCAT miscues to build a 22-13 advantage in points off of turnovers.