BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Newbury College women's basketball team defeated Becker College, 56-20, in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), Saturday afternoon. Junior guard Jovanna Sandifer (Boston, Mass.) paved the way to the victory registering a game-high 16 points.
Four minutes into the game sophomore guard Janetis Cardona (Southbridge, Mass.) connected with Sandifer, for one of her game-high four assists, to ignite an 8-0 run to give the Nighthawks a 12-4 lead and spark the offense. First year forward Destiny Spears (Arnold, Md.) was red-hot in the first half, netting 13-of-her 15 points including knocking down a pair of free-throws late in the period to give the Nighthawks their largest lead of the half – 23-12.
Despite being held scoreless throughout the first half, junior guard Katelyn Roeser (Nashua, N.H.) was force in the offensive low-post. Midway through the period, she out-battled Hawks defenders ripping the ball out of Becker's hands which ultimately led to a Sandifer lay-up to put the Nighthawks up by seven as they took a 23-14 lead into the intermission.
When the teams emerged from the locker room at the start of the second half, the Nighthawks kept the pressure on the Hawks offensively. Following a rough offensive first half, Roeser came out of the gate strong picking up two of the Nighthawks six steals in the opening seven minutes of the period. After picking the pocket of Becker senior guard Brooke Martel (Griswold, Conn.), the New Hampshire native found Spears in the paint for an easy lay-up to extend the Nighthawk lead to 20.
Newbury did not back down as they continued to pile on the offense. Sandifer remained red-hot in the second half, knocking down a jumper with under three minutes remaining in the contest to give the Nighthawks their largest lead of the contest. Senior center Jamie Vankoeverden (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was outstanding on defense registering 12 rebounds while recording one steal and one block
Martel led the Hawks with a team-high six points as well as tied junior forward Gabrielle Gallo (Northport, N.Y.) with six rebounds in the loss. First year guard Alycia Dery (Millville, Mass.) followed up Martel registering a five points.
Newbury improves to 3-6 and 2-1 in conference play while Becker falls to 0-8 and 0-3 in the NECC. The Nighthawks return from the winter break against defending NECC Champion Regis College on the road in Weston, Mass. on January 10th at 1:00 p.m. The Hawks break from conference action when they open up the new year against Mount Ida College on Saturday January 3rd at 1:00 p.m. in Leicester, Mass.
