Women's Basketball Rallies for 43-42 win against Regis

KEENE, N.H.—The Anna Maria College women's basketball team rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to net a one-point victory, 43-42, against Regis College in the consolation game of the Keene State College Holiday Tournament.

With the win, the AMCATS snap a six-game slide to improve to 4-7 overall, while the loss drops the Pride to 4-3 overall.

Anna Maria senior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.) netted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team. She also tallied eight steals on the afternoon. Classmate Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, while freshman Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) scored seven points off the bench.

Regis was led by Emilee Marro with 12 points and eight rebounds and Amanda Hawkesworth, who tallied a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds.

The AMCATS trailed 30-19 at halftime but held the Pride scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the second half to build their comeback. Trailing 34-27 with 10:43 left to play, the AMCATS scored the next three baskets to come within one at 34-33.

A free-throw by Regis's Alyssa Lanpher gave the Pride an extra point advantage, but Anna Maria's Emily Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) tied the score at 35-35 on the AMCATS next possession.

The two teams traded baskets, and the lead, for the next few minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points.

With 50 seconds left, Regis took a 42-41 lead on a free-throw by Amanda Hawkesworth. The AMCATS got the defensive rebound on Hawkesworth's second shot, but subsequently turned the ball over. With 12 seconds left, Deja Taitt (Jamaica, N.Y.) stole the ball back, and Anna Maria called time out.

Following the time out, the AMCATS ran an inbounds play and took two passes to get the ball to Russo, who drove to the hoop to net the game-winning shot with six seconds left on the clock.

Anna Maria held advantages in points off turnovers (19-11), points in the paint (24-16), and bench points (10-7), but Regis prevailed in second-chance points (10-2) and fastbreak points (4-2). Regis's largest lead in the first half was 17 points, while Anna Maria's biggest lead was its three-point advantage with 4:44 left to play.

The AMCATS will look for their second-straight win on Saturday, January 3 when they host Middlebury College at 1:00 p.m. at the Fuller Activities Center.