Royals, Card Lead Trinity Women’s Basketball to Win in Golden Bears Hoop Classic Final
Sringfield, Mass. - Senior center Christine Card (Waterbury, Conn.) and sophomore guard Michelle Royals (Torrington, Conn.) combined for 45 points to lead the Trinity College women's basketball team to a 70-59 victory over host Western New England College in the championship game of the inaugural Golden Bears Hoop Classic Sunday afternoon (Nov. 22).
Card scored a game high 25 points with six rebounds while Royals added 20 points with a game best four steals. Royals, who had 17 points on Saturday in a win over Norwich, was selected the Tournament MVP. Card made the All-Tournament Team.
Trinity (2-0) used an 18-0 run in the opening half to take a 40-20 lead at halftime.
Western New England College (1-2) battled back and cut the deficit to nine at 60-51 following a pair of free throws by freshman guard Emily Savino (Ellington, Conn.) with 2:26 left. The Golden Bears pulled within six at 64-58 when sophomore forward Sarah Proper (Coxsackie, N.Y.) scored on a lay-up with 39 seconds remaining. Royals answered with a lay-up seven seconds later to help seal the win.
WNEC had a tough time dealing with Card who made 11-of-15 shots from the field along with all three foul shots. Royals was 6-of-12 from the floor and made 4-of-7 three-pointers, and all four charity shots. Senior guard Tess Donie (Worcester, Mass.) was the third Trinity player in double figures with 13 points.
Savino played a terrific game, finishing with 20 points (including 8-of-9 from the foul line) and a game high five assists. Senior guard Kailah Al-Darraji (Dover, N.H.) collected 14 points, all in the second half.
Both players were named to the All-Tournament Team along with Norwich senior forward Jess Jaggars (Vergennes, Vt.) and Bay Path sophomore forward Nadine Harkless (Westfield, Mass.).
Trinity and Western New England College each shot under 40% from the field (38.6% and 34.0%, respectively), but both squads were outstanding at the foul line. The Bantams made 21-of-25 attempts (84.0%) while the Golden Bears were 19-of-25 (76.0%).
WNEC held a 42-34 edge in rebounding as Proper pulled down a game high 13 boards.
This also was a homecoming for Trinity coach Wendy Davis who coached the Golden Bears for six seasons before present coach Nicole Chaszar took over in 2005.
