BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Becker College women's basketball team defeated to Newbury College, 58-48, in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action Saturday afternoon. Freshman forward Ciara McKissick (Carlton, Mass.) led the way for the Hawks with a game-high 23 points.
Freshman guard Tylar Barbato (Hillsdale, N.Y.) opened the game draining a trey from senior guard Katelyn Roeser (Nashua, N.H.) as the Nighthawks jumped out to a 7-0 lead. However, the Hawks were not going to go away.
Taking advantage of two Nighthawk turnovers, first year guard Katey Anderson (Beachwood, N.J.) ignited a two-minute 7-1 run with trey to bring the Hawks to within in one-point of the lead. Newbury continued to remain out in front as they led by one, 15-14 at the end of the first period.
Momentum swung over towards the Becker bench, opening up the second period with a five-minute 14-2 run to take a commanding 28-17 lead. First year forward Adrianna Dowdy (East Haven, Conn.) sparked the run with a lay-up as she led the Hawks with five points during the five-minute long stretch. They never looked back as they took a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
When the teams returned to the court at the start of the second half, the Hawks picked up where they left off at the end of the first. McKissick remained red-hot from the floor, leading the way with nine points as Becker outscored Newbury, 16-10, in the third to take a 48-37 lead in the final remaining quarter.
Despite trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, the Nighthawks continued to fight hard. Roeser scored six of her 11 points in the quarter while first year guard Isabelle Pafford (Greenland, N.H.) provided a spark, defensively, off the bench with a steal.
Sophomore forward Destiny Spears (Arnold, Md.) led the Nighthawks with her eighth double-double of the season tallying 17 points and 13 rebounds. Roeser followed up with 11 while Babcock and senior guard Jovanna Sandifer (Boston , Mass.) each recorded six points.
Newbury falls to 5-14 and 4-8 in the conference while Becker improves to 4-14 and 3-8 in the NECC. The Nighthawks return to the hard-court on Monday February 1st when they travel to Lesley University for an 8:00 p.m. tilt. The Hawks will host Southern Vermont College Tuesday February 2nd at 8:00 p.m. in Leicester, Mass.
