Panthers Beat Pilgrims in Suspense-Filled Game

John LaPierre

He/Him

Staff Writer

12/2/23

Thursday night, Plymouth State women’s basketball team welcomed in-conference rival, the New England College Pilgrims, to campus. The Panthers entered the contest with an overall record of 3-2, whereas the New England College Pilgrims came into the contest with an overall record of 4-3.

With the first quarter underway, the Panthers looked great early on with the Pilgrims struggling with turnovers and fouls. When Plymouth State’s defense would stop at the defensive end, they were able to quickly change direction for an excellent transition offense. Though Panthers lost the jump ball and allowed the Pilgrims to score first, the momentum shifted in Plymouth’s direction. New England College hit a late three to cut their deficit after being down by four for the majority of the quarter. The Panthers had a 16-15 lead going into the second quarter.

The Panthers started the second quarter off hot, going on an 8-3 run early on. The Panthers continued to outhustle the Pilgrims on any offensive fast break or any loose ball. New England College continued to struggle with turnovers which led to a majority of the Panthers points. Sabrina Vlahovic was offensively efficient, making good plays whether scoring or assisting to her teammates. Going into halftime, the Panthers had a large cushion, being up 35-25.

For the third quarter, the Pilgrims were the ones starting off hot. The Panthers continued to maintain a comfortable lead, but the Pilgrims began an efficent 13-5 run to tie the game at 45 going into the fourth quarter. The Pilgrims’ Kathleen Rodriguez was a key aspect for the Pilgrims for grabbing rebounds on both ends.

The fourth quarter was a race against the clock with both sides keeping the game tight and suspenseful. New England College was up 57-54 with just four minutes left in regulation, but with huge baskets by Ashley Stephens and Bri Wilcox, this put the Panthers ahead once again. With few score changes happening this quarter, Ashley Stephens made a clutch basket in the paint, sending the game to overtime.

Overtime started off well for the Panthers with a few free throws from Ashley Stephens and a three pointer from Bri Wilcox. Sabrina Vlahovic continued her scoring streak with a basket off a sneaky backdoor found from her teammate Lea Crompton. The Pilgrims did their absolute best in staying in this game, but with the Panthers being outstanding from the free throw line, they sealed the game from the Pilgrims. The final buzzer sounded and the Panthers won by a final score of 78-67.

Senior Captain Sabrina Vlahovic said that, “we did a whole lot of defense because that’s our team’s game and we reviewed our offenses as well as New England’s College offense.” The scouting reports they used really did help, she added. Coming up for the Panthers, they will travel to in-conference rival Western Connecticut University Wolves on 12/2 for a 1:00 pm start.