Rivier Tops Women's Basketball, 77-65

PAXTON, Mass.—Senior Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H.) scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Rivier University women's basketball team to a 77-65 win against the AMCATS of Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

With the loss, the AMCATS fall to 9-12 overall and 4-4 in GNAC play, while the win boosts the visiting Raiders to 9-11 overall and 5-2 in league action.

The AMCATS were paced by senior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.) who posted her 13^th double-double of the season with 23 points and 18 rebounds.  Sophomore Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) chipped in with 18 points, while classmate Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y.) scored eight points.

Purcell also led the Raiders on the boards with eight rebounds. Three other Rivier starters scored in double-figures; Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.) scored 16 points, while Rebecca DeBaldo (Pelham, N.H.) and Caitlin Bulger (Nashua, N.H.) both scored 12 points each.

The Raiders scored the first basket of the game and never relinquished the lead, despite many AMCAT runs. Anna Maria would stay within six points for the first eight minutes of the game, until Raiders strung together a 6-0 run to take a double-digit lead with nine minutes left in the first half.

Rivier would maintain the double-figure margin for the remainder of the half, until Anna Maria's Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass.) hit a layup with 20 seconds left to cut the Raiders lead to nine, 35-26, entering halftime.

The AMCATS chipped back in the second half and cut RIvier's lead to just four, 57-53, with 8:35 still to play. It would prove to be the closest Anna Maria would get, however, as the Raiders held Anna Maria to just one point over the next three minutes to build a 10-point lead at 64-54.

Anna Maria cut the deficit to six points at the 2:55 mark, but a final 12-6 run sealed the victory for Rivier.

The Raiders outshot the AMCATS 40-36 in the paint and 10-8 on the fast break. Anna Maria held a 24-15 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-4 edge in second-chance points.

Rivier posted an impressive 51.9 percent effort from the floor (27-52), while holding Anna Maria to 38.5 percent (25-65).

The AMCATS return to action on Thursday when they travel to Fitchburg State for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game. Rivier will host Suffolk on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.