Salve Regina def. Gordon, 70-52; Pendergast reaches 1,000 points

NEWPORT, R.I. - After scoring less than double figures for the first time this season on Tuesday, Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) recorded her second-straight 26-point effort to lead Salve Regina University women's basketball to a 70-52 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) win over visiting Gordon College at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The sophomore guard added six steals, five rebounds, and three assists; her first assist fed Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.) in the paint as the senior forward surpassed the 1,000-point mark with her third basket in the first half.

The Fighting Scots did not trail for the first nine minutes of the game, the 34th meeting between the two programs. Junior guard Brook Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) started the game with a jump shot from the left side. Salve Regina junior Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) tied it with her layup on the next possession before Clancey Adams (Simsbury, Conn.) hit a 3-pointer for Gordon.

Pendergast sank her first basket at 18:35 before Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) and Harden traded 3-pointers. Both teams feature freshmen 6-footers, Gordon's Fredi Nielsen (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Salve Regina's Jillian Woodward (Orono, Maine), and they traded respective layups between 12:36 and 11:52 for the game's third deadlock, 16-16.

Harden's cross-over dribble and layup with the left hand produced Salve Regina's first lead at 10:53 (18-16). Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) answered with a 3-pointer at the other end.

Pendergast's 1,001st career point came at 10:27 and gave the Seahawks the lead for good. It started a 13-8 run for Salve Regina over the final minutes of the first half, and the Seahawks went into the break up four, 31-27. Freshman Kelsey Kennedy (Medford, N.J.) made a 3-pointer during the run.

Salve Regina (5-7; 3-3 CCC) expanded its lead to 10 points with three successive layups at the start of the second half from Del Valle, Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.), and Harden.

A Kratche jumper at 9:37 in the second half made it a three-point game (50-47) before Salve Regina went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by five points from senior guard Taylor Windwer (Milton, Mass.). After another Clancey Adams 3-pointer (4-for-4 behind the arc) at 2:23, the rest of the scoring came from Salve Regina at the free throw line.

Adams finished with 12 points on her four treys while Nielsen and Kratche added 13 and 14 points, respectively. Pendergast narrowly missed her fifth double-double of the season while finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds. Del Valle joined her two teammates in double figures with 13 points.

Salve Regina has a three-game road trip starting at Emmanuel College on Monday night; Gordon (5-8; 1-5 CCC) hosts University of New England on Wednesday.