SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 6, 2013) – A total of six players reached double-figures in the contest, but it was the visiting Engineers that came out on top as Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) held off Mount Holyoke College, 65-52 on Senior Night in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening. With the victory, WPI moves to 13-8 overall and 9-6 in conference play, while the Lyons slip to 5-15 and 3-12 in the NEWMAC.
It was a close game through the first 12 minutes as neither team led by more than two points to get the contest going. Mount Holyoke pulled away with 9:20 left in the half as junior forward Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) drained a jumper to give the home team a four-point (19-15) lead.
The momentum made a quick shift moments later as senior center Cindy Chelius (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) sank the first of three consecutive layups to give the visitors a two-point (21-19) advantage and a lead they would not relinquish from that point on.
Back-to-back jumpers by sophomore guard Dani Davis (East Granby, Conn./East Granby), who had a game-best 11 points in the first half, gave WPI its largest lead through the first 20 minutes as the Engineers held an 11-point (32-23) margin with 2:19 remaining. The Lyons could not cut the deficit closer than nine at the half as the visitors headed into the intermission with a 34-25 lead.
In the second half, the Engineers continued to dominate as senior forward Theresa Logan (Southboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) dropped in a jumper and a layup to make it a 40-28 lead with 17:12 to play in the contest. WPI, which was outstanding off the glass with 52 rebounds (22 offensive) in the game, continued to capitalize on second chances and grabbed a 12-point (49-35) advantage with 12:28 on the clock.
A layup by junior forward Siera Mamayek (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) gave WPI its largest lead of the game, 54-38, at the 9:03 mark, but the Lyons began to chip away the margin. Vizcaino nailed a jumper with 4:50 to play to cut the deficit to nine and senior guard Jasmine Brown (Enfield, Conn./Watkinson School) sank a layup to make it a seven-point game with 3:49 to play.
WPI rebounded quickly and took advantage of several MHC fouls and missed buckets to build the lead back up to double-digits, including four points from Chelius over the final two minutes of the contest.
For the game, Davis recorded a game-best 17 points with a game-high eight rebounds. She also added an assist. Chelius added 14 points and seven rebounds with two assists and a steal, while Mamayek also chipped in with 14 points and a game-best eight rebounds.
Mount Holyoke saw senior guard Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (N.H.) pour in a team-high 15 points with four rebounds. Vizcaino added 14 points with four caroms and a steal, while sophomore guard Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) added 11 points, including a game-best three shots from beyond the arc. She also chipped in with a game-high three assists and two steals.
Mount Holyoke, which honored Pascual and Brown in a pre-game ceremony, is back in action on Saturday at Coast Guard. The game is scheduled to begin at 1pm. WPI is also in action on Saturday, hosting Wellesley in a 2pm contest.
All photos courtesy of Frank Poulin Sports Photography.
