NEWPORT, R.I. - As the clock ticked down to the final seconds, senior guard Lisa Bucci (Irvington, N.Y.) stood at halfcourt with the ball in both hands and tossed it up in the air, celebrating Salve Regina University's last regular season game with a 70-57 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) win over Curry College on Saturday at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

Though the senior trio of Bucci, Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.), and Taylor Windwer (Milton, Mass.) received most of the accolades at the outset, it was sophomore Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) who stole the show with a 25-point, seven-rebound, two-block, two-steal, and one-assist effort.

After trailing most of the first half, Salve Regina took the lead, 37-36, after a basket at the buzzer by junior Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.). The basket culminated a 14-2 run to end the half.

Salve Regina came out strong in the second half, forcing many turnovers through a man -to -man defensive scheme. Salve Regina forced nine turnovers in the second half, and made it difficult for Curry to get off open looks from the 3-point line. After converting 50% of its three point attempts in the first half, Curry made only two of 11 (18.2%) from behind the arc the rest of the way.

Pendergast solidified the physical tone set by Salve Regina in the second half, finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds. She finished as the league's leading rebounder (10.3 rpg), as she continues to rack up double-double efforts for the Seahawks. Junior Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) also tallied a double-double with her 16-point, 10-rebound effort.

While Curry tried to get back into the game through its 3-point shooting, Salve Regina found success early and often by attacking the basket in the post. The Seahawks reached the charity stripe 21 times, and shot 66.7% from the line.

Harden continues to torch opposing defenses, and was nearly unstoppable scoring as the second half progressed. The conference's leading scorer (19.2 ppg) mixed in drives to the basket with layups, pull-up jumpers, and a 3-pointer for 14 of her game-high 25 points.

Salve Regina found late success with its ball movement and opened up easy baskets for its post players, scoring 24 points in the paint on the game.

With 1:22 left in the game and the home crowd on their feet, head coach Cori Hughes put the seniors back in the lineup to commemorate their last regular season win together.

Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) and Jeanette Fallon (Nashua, N.H.) reached double figures for the visitors, both scoring 10 points. Christina Deiorio (Stoughton, Mass.) and Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.) both had a pair of treys in the first half, but were shutout in the last 20 minutes. Curry's lone senior, Ashley Assarian (Chicopee, Mass.), swished a pair of 3-points in the second half.

With the win today, Salve Regina clinches the fourth seed for the CCC Championships, and will host a rematch with the fifth seed Colonels on Tuesday.

Written by Leon Bayles '14