HENNIKER, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's basketball team secured a 69-58 victory over New England College, using a dominant fourth-quarter performance to topple the Pilgrims at Bridges Gym on Thursday evening.
Powered by a spectacular return to the court by junior
Sophie George (Meredith, N.H.), PSU exploded with a game-deciding, 20-9 run over the final four-plus minutes. George, playing in her first game since sustaining an ACL injury on Nov. 21, 2023, led all scorers with 20 points. Her fourth-quarter heroics included three three-pointers.
Junior
Hailey Malozzi (Maynard, Mass.) added her first career double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds, while graduate student
Alessia Salzillo (Saugus, Mass.) finished with ten points, six boards and six assists.
Plymouth State improves to 3-8, while NEC dips to 6-7.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 69, NEC 58
- Plymouth State (3-8)
- NEC (6-7)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- Plymouth State opened the game by quickly jumping out to a 9-2 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers from junior Raegan Peck (Dudley, Mass.) and George.
- Peck connected from deep again to make it 12-6 midway through the frame, but a pair of free throws in the final minute allowed the hosts to pull even at 16-16.
- George beat the buzzer from distance to give PSU a 19-16 advantage after one.
- PSU led for much of the second quarter until an 8-0 spurt midway through the frame saw NEC take a 29-24 lead.
- The Panthers stayed close, though, and senior Raven Premont (Barre, Vt.) got to the rim for a 30-29 lead with 1:35 left in the half. Salzillo knocked down a jumper with a minute to play, but NEC answered back to make it a 32-31 game as the teams went to the locker room.
- The game remained tight as neither team was able to pull away in the third quarter. A layup from junior Elli Cox (Deerfield, N.H.) gave PSU a narrow 44-43 lead heading into the final frame.
- NEC went in front early in the fourth quarter and the game was deadlocked at 49-49 with just over four minutes left to play. George connected from downtown to break the tie and PSU would stay in front the rest of the way.
- Another George triple on the next possession made it 55-50, and Malozzi and George canned back-to-back treys as the lead grew to double digits, 62-52, with 1:39 on the clock. PSU coasted from there, with freshman Kaley Goodhart (Center Conway, N.H.) sealing the win with three free throws in the final minute.
By the Numbers:
- George was outstanding, going 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-9 from deep for a game-high 20 points.
- Malozzi posted her first career double-double with season highs of 11 points and ten rebounds, adding four assists, a block and one steal to her stat line.
- Salzillo stuffed the stat sheet with ten points, six boards, six assists and three steals.
- Plymouth State's defensive pressure forced 23 turnovers, converting them into 23 points. NEC scored just five points off 13 PSU turnovers.
- The Panthers had a significant advantage from beyond the arc, hitting 10 three-pointers compared to New England College's four.
- PSU capitalized on more opportunities at the line, outscoring the Pilgrims 15-4 from the charity stripe.
- NEC held a 49-38 advantage on the boards, but PSU's offensive rebounding (15) led to 17 second-chance points.
- Plymouth State's bench outscored its counterparts by a 32-26 margin
- Plymouth State leads the series by a 16-4 margin and has won four of the last five meetings.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State returns to Little East Conference play with a trip to Rhode Island College on Saturday (Jan. 11) for a noon clash with the Anchorwomen.
– 30 –
