Posted: Feb 20, 2014
New England College junior forward Taylor Burgess finished with a game-high 23 points leading the Pilgrims past the visiting Johnson State College Badgers 74-56 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) women's basketball action Thursday evening.
With the win the Pilgrims improve to 13-11 overall and 9-8 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play. The loss drops the Badgers to 7-17 on the season and 7-10 in the NAC.
The Pilgrims would jump out to an early lead up 20-6 seven minutes into the opening half. The Badgers would storm back using a 15-0 run to grab their first lead of the game up 21-20 at the 7:44 mark. NEC would regain the lead thanks to a three-pointer by Kayla Lawlor and then close out the half scoring the final seven points to head into the intermission up 35-25.
The Pilgrims would never trail in the second half of play building their lead to as many as 21 with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. The Badgers would try to chip away but NEC would force 28 Johnson turnovers en route to the eventual 74-56 victory.
In addition to Burgess, NEC's Kayla Lawlor finished with 15 points and a team-best six rebounds, while Marjani Lillard chipped in eight points and came up with six assists for the Pilgrims.
Leading the way for Johnson State was Kasey DeGreenia who recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Johnson's Allyson Bruckner finished with nine points and eight rebounds, while Eliannie Sola also chipped in nine points for the Badgers.
NEC returns to action Saturday, Feb. 22 when they close out the regular season on the road taking on Lyndon State College. Johnson will also close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 22 when they host conference foe Colby-Sawyer College.