Lady AMCATS Drop Season Opener

WENHAM, MA— Taking on the AMCATS of Anna Maria College tonight in the Gordon College Women's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament, the Pilgrims of New England College kicked off their season with a 74-49 victory to improve to 1-0 overall. Anna Maria starts out the season 0-1.

The AMCATS were led by Chelsea Blair's (Sr./Holland, Mass.)  double double  10 points, 10 rebounds, while Katie Pryor (So./Whitinsville, Mass.) was the only other AMCAT to posted double figures adding  13 points on the night.
 
Pacing the win for NEC was Taylor Burgess (So./Randallstown, Md.) with a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Markey Flewelling (Fr./Portsmouth, N.H.) recorded 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
 
Both teams traded points and leads in the opening 11 minutes of play. A pair of Liz Sama free throws notched the game at 13, however Pilgrims went on a 14-0 run to build a 27-13 lead with just over four minutes to go in the half.
 
Despite the AMCATS earning back a few of those points with 3-pointers by Katie Pryor and Nicole Primavera, NEC went into the break holding a nine-point advantage (32-23).
 
Within six minutes in the second, Anna Maria had closed the gap to four points, outscoring NEC 10-5 to open the second stanza but Burgess, Flewelling, and Kayla Lawlor (So./Cocoa Beach, Fla.) took over down the stretch to secure the 25-point win.
 
New England College advances to take on tournament host Gordon College at 3 p.m. on Saturday, while Anna Maria will play Newbury College in the consolation game at 1 p.m.