Nighthawks Hold Off Wildcats’ Attack

The Newbury College Women's Basketball team kept their playoff hopes alive and well, as they defeated Wheelock College 64 -57 today in Brookline, MA.  Rashawna Wynn (Baltimore, MD/Southwestern) paved the way for the Nighthawks as she scored a game high 21 points and ripped down a game high 13 rebounds in the victory; Wynn was the only player to finish with a double-double while also adding four steals and two assists.     

The game would prove to be a thrilling one from the start, as both teams would go back and forth for much of the first half.  Leading the way for the Nighthawks was freshman Morganna Machado (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) who connected on 3 of 7 from behind the arc to give Newbury a 3 point lead heading into intermission. 

The second half would provide much of the same intensity, as the lead would change 3 times throughout the half.  The Wildcats made their final push with 2:58 remaining when they cut the Nighthawks lead to just one, but junior captain Katelyn Mark stepped up to the challenge and nailed a 3 pointer to send Newbury up four.  Key lay-ups by Jessica Graus (Rochester, NY/) and successful free throw shooting down the stretch sealed the win for the Nighthawks and pushed them two games up on Southern Vermont for the final playoff spot in the NECC. 

Despite the loss, Wheelock's Elise Ordille (Waltham, MA/Waltham) led her team with 16 points, while Jessica Battista (Johnston, RI/St. Mary Academy) would add 13.  Also for the Wildcats Sarah Brown (Plainville, CT, Plainville) would finish just shy of a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. 

Prior to opening tip, the Nighthawk community paid tribute to Athletic Faculty Representative Debbie Mael for her 31 years of commitment to Newbury and her six year battle with Breast Cancer.  Today Newbury was one of over 1500 schools from across the nation to participate in Pink Zone.  "The WBCA Pink Zone^TM initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond" (WBCA.org).   

With three conference games remaining, the Nighthawks will look to climb in the NECC standings as they will travel to Becker College on Tuesday February 17, 2009; tip off is at 7:00pm.