NORTON, Mass. - Despite a game-best 19 points, including five shots from beyond the arc, from junior captain Kate Karraker, the Mount Holyoke College basketball team was unable to battle back against Wheaton College, falling 76-56 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday. With the win, Wheaton improves to 4-0 and is now 2-0 in conference play, while the Lyons move to 3-1 and 1-1 in the NEWMAC.
Sophomore forward Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) recorded her first double-double of the season with ten points and 11 rebounds alongside four blocks and one assist to guide the Blue and White to their second conference victory in as many tries.
Junior forward Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) paced Wheaton with 16 points, six rebounds and one block. Classmate Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) tallied ten points, a game-high nine assists, four rebounds and one block. Junior Kirsten Ferrari (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's) was solid on both ends of the floor compiling 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Mount Holyoke junior guard Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School) led all scorers with her 19 points, which also included four boards and two assists. Classmate Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) contributed 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, while junior forward Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional) poured in ten points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded two steals.
Wheaton outscored Mount Holyoke, 32-26, in the paint and also held a 24-0 advantage in points off the bench. The Blue and White also received ten rebounds from the bench highlighted by five boards from senior forward Sarah Fitzgerald (Bath, Maine/Morse). Wheaton finished the contest with a 44-31 margin in rebounds with 11 coming on the offensive glass.
The first half featured three lead changes and four ties before the Blue and White pulled away with an old-fashioned three-point play by Pierce at the 4:30 mark to give the hosts a slim 23-21 lead. Wheaton went on to close out the opening stanza with a 16-4 run after Legare tied the score at 21-21 with a pair of free throws at 5:16. Pierce orchestrated the charge with a team-high eight points over the remaining minutes of the half, while Ferrari netted five points. The Blue and White also held Mount Holyoke scoreless for 3:51 down the stretch gathering six rebounds and two steals to help contribute to the 16-4 run.
Wheaton shot 44.4-percent (13-for-24) in the second half receiving points from nine different student-athletes along the way. Junior guard Kenzie Kuhn (Glenwood Springs, Colo./Glenwood Springs) notched six points off the bench canning a pair of threes in the stanza and Shoemaker scored a team-high eight points in the stanza. Karraker buried nine points, but the hosts were efficient from the free throw line going 9-for-11 to claim its fourth-straight win.
Wheaton travels to Smith College on Tuesday, November 26 for a conference clash at 6 p.m. Mount Holyoke hosts Clark University also on Tuesday in a NEWMAC matchup with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Game story courtesy of Shawn Medeiros, Wheaton Sports Information.
