SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Junior forward Abbie Brickley scored the go-ahead layup with 10:01 remaining and despite a furious effort in the closing seconds, Wheaton College held on for a 56-55 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) basketball action on Wednesday evening. With the win, Wheaton moves to 14-3 and 9-3 in conference play, while MHC is now 4-13 and 1-11 in the NEWMAC.
Following Brickley's (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) layup and follow-up free throw make, Mount Holyoke junior Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) nailed a jumper to pull the home team back to within one (40-39), but layup by Kenzie Kuhn (Glenwood Springs, Colo./Glenwood Springs) followed later by a three-pointer from sophomore Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) made it a 45-41 game in Wheaton's favor with 8:26 on the clock.
Another Wheaton three-pointer, this time from the hands of junior Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), pushed the visitors' advantage to seven (48-41), but MHC continued to press as jumpers from Legare and senior Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) made it a three-point margin (53-50) with 4:26 to play in the contest.
Wheaton once again pushed its lead to five (56-51), but a four-point effort, including two free throw makes and a layup by Vizcaino helped cut the deficit to one (56-55) for the home team with 55 seconds left to play. Mount Holyoke had its chance after recovering the rebound of a missed free throw, but Vizcaino's layup with one second left would not fall.
Mount Holyoke held the lead in the opening half of the game, shooting 43.3% (13-of-30) from the field, while holding Wheaton to just 28.0% (7-of-25). The homestanding Lyons jumped 
out to a 12-0 advantage, including six points from Legare, who finished with a game-high 16 points.
Junior captain Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) laid down three shots from behind the arc in the half, including one that gave MHC the 30-18 lead with 49 seconds left in the opening stanza.
For Wheaton, Arnone finished with 15 points, including four shots from three-point range. She also added three assists. Brickley posted 12 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore forward Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) had 10 points and a game-best 14 rebounds to go with two blocks. Kuhn also chipped in with 11 points and a game-best two steals.
Mount Holyoke saw both Legare and Karraker record a game-best 16 points. Karraker also added five assists, five boards and a block, while Legare added 11 rebounds, two assists, a block and two steals. Vizcaino added 12 points and a game-high six assists.
Both teams are back on the court on Saturday at 1pm as Mount Holyoke travels to Clark, while Wheaton hosts Smith.
Photo courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
