Nighthawks Fall to Blazers; Backdoor into Playoffs

The Newbury College Women's Basketball team lost their final home contest of the 2008-2009 season to visiting Elms College by a score of 66-49 today in Brookline, MA.  Despite the loss, the Nighthawks are headed to the first-ever NECC playoff tournament where they hope to make a run for the title.

The Nighthawks played an outstanding first half led by the stellar shooting from sophomore guard Ashley Monteiro (Cambridge, MA/Cambridge Rindge & Latin) who connected on 3-6 from behind the arc and chipped in additional field goal to go along with a perfect free throw percentage (2-2).  Even with Monteiro's effort, the Blazers outshot the Nighthawks, recording a shooting percentage of 30.3% to Newbury's 26.7%.  That difference would be just enough as Elms entered the locker room with a two point lead.

The second half was dominated by the Blazers' Amanda Brogna (Oxford, MA/Oxford) and Tomie Lafond (Hatfield, MA/Smith Academy) who made for a dangerous combination of post and perimeter play.  Brogna recorded 14 of her 22 total points after the break, while Lafond was 3-4 from three-point land. 

The two teams will meet again on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 in the first round of the NECC playoffs.  The game will take place at Elms College beginning at 7:00 PM.