Walker-Warburton Combination Lead AMCATS Past Bison

Paxton, Mass. – Anna Maria College senior Taylor Walker (Winchendon, Mass.) and junior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.) combined for an impressive 39 points and 29 rebounds as the Lady AMCATS downed visiting Nichols College 76-59 in non-conference women's basketball action on Tuesday evening at Fuller Activities Center. With the win the AMCATS move to 3-2 on the season while the Bison fall from the unbeaten ranks to 3-1.

Warburton notched 19 points for the second consecutive game on 9-for-20 shooting and added a game-high 18 rebounds, five steals, one block and one assist for her second double-double of the season. Walker, posted her fourth double-double in five games, scoring a game-high 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and a nifty 8-for-10 from the charity stripe. She also added 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Freshman Deja Taitt (Jamaica, NY) also had a solid game joining her teammates in double-figures with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Leading the charge for the Bison was senior Devon Spirka (Wilmington, VT) who contributed 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Off the bench junior guard Sara Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) scored a team-high 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Junior Amber Litwinko (Berlin, Conn.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.

The AMCATS broke a 6-6 tie with a 7-0 run, that included a basket and a trey from Warburton and a jumper in the paint by freshman Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.), to take their biggest lead of the half 13-6 with 13:51 to play. The Bison responded outscoring the AMCATS 15-8 over the next seven minutes to tie the game at 21-all with a Spirka three-pointer from deep in the corner at the 5:57 mark.

With the game deadlocked the Bison would tighten up the defense causing four AMCAT turnovers en route to a 13-0 run and a 34-21 lead with less than a minute to play in the stanza. A jumper by Gauvin and a layup by Taitt at the buzzer cut the score to a manageable nine point disadvantage, 34-25 heading into halftime.

The AMCATS came out strong in the second half. Warburton scored on Anna Maria's first possession and drew the foul, although she couldn't complete the 3-point play she grabbed her own offensive rebound for an easy put back to cut the lead to five. Next sophomore Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass.) drilled a 3-pointer as the shot-clock was about to expire and Taitt added a jumper and we had a brand new ball game with 18:33 remaining.

Tied for the sixth time on the night at 38-38, at the 16:47 mark, the AMCATS would respond with a 12-2 run capped by a Gauvin-to-Taitt trey from the corner to make it a 10-point game, 50-40 with 12:49 on the clock.

The Bison would battle back with back-to-back three pointers by Kasey Pelletier and Whitestone and a Spirka basket to cut the lead to 50-48.  Walker would respond with four point for AMC to build a 54-48 lead halfway through the period.

Nichols would cut the lead to two points again, however the AMCATS would continue to hold the Bison at bay, eventually pulling away for the 76-59 win.

After shooting a dismal 29% in the first half, Anna Maria responded with 17 second half baskets (39%) while Nichols shot 39% for the night. Anna Maria controlled the boards the entire night outrebounding Nichols 55-29, including  an incredible 21 offensive rebounds.

Anna Maria will now enjoy the Thanksgiving break before returning to action next Thursday when the travel to Framingham State University for a 6:00 pm match-up.