The visiting New England College women's basketball team edged the Johnson State Badgers 62-52 in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) contest Saturday afternoon. The loss sees the Badgers dip to 2-7 on the season and 2-3 in NAC play, while the win for the Pilgrims improves their record to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the NAC.
The Badgers' offense was led by Brittany Robertson who finished with a team-high 10 points while Eliannie Sola chipped in nine points and grabbed six rebounds.
For the Pilgrims, Kayla Lawlor finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds. In addition, Taylor Burgess bucketed 13 points and grabbed eight boards while teammate Shauntaye Pumphret contributed 10 points towards the winning effort.
Johnson kicked off the half with an four point lead up 14-10 eight minutes into the first half. NEC battled back cutting the lead and pulling ahead 27-25 at the 1:58 mark. An Ashley Godddard free throw put the Badgers within one point (27-26) of their opponents, but two Lawlor free-throws ended the half with the Pilgrims up 29-26.
JSC controlled much of the offense in the second half shooting 37% from the field, which included 26 points in the paint, but they were not able to close out the game. The Pilgrims scored four points in the last minute to seal the 62-52 victory.
Johnson will prepare for a home game January 16th when they take on NAC foe Castleton State College for a 7:30p tip. NEC will return to action January 7th, hosting NAC conference opponent Green Mountain College for a 7:30p game.