SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Junior forward Chelsi Scott posed a game-best 15 points to lead the Wellesley College basketball team to a 48-35 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Blue improve to 6-13 overall and 3-8 in conference play, while the Lyons slip to 6-13 and 3-7 in the NEWMAC.
In addition to Scott (Portland, Mich./Portland), who also had seven rebounds and two steals, the Blue saw senior forward Morgyne Weaver (Oklahoma City, Okla./Mt. St. Mary) add 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Senior guard Meghan Sargent (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Brady) chipped in with 10 points.
For the Lyons, senior guard Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School) had 14 points to go along with a game-best three assists and a steal. Senior forward Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) added seven points and a game-best nine rebounds, while classmate and fellow forward Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional) had seven points, seven boards and a game-best four blocks.
Mount Holyoke opened the game with a strong 12-2 lead, paced by a pair of three-pointers from Karraker. Wellesley began to chip away the lead, tying the contest at 13-all on a free throw make by Weaver. After a quick back-and-forth, which saw the Lyons go back up by one (16-15), Weaver went back to the line and made both to give the Blue a 17-16 advantage.
Another bucket and a free throw from Weaver made it a four-point (20-16) lead with 1:31 remaining in the opening frame. Scott closed out the stanza for the Blue, nailing a layup and sinking a shot from the line, for an eight-point (24-16) Wellesley lead at halftime.
The visitors continued to push to open the second half, going up by 12 on a jumper from Weaver. A three-pointer from junior Kelly Stewart (La Cañada, Calif./La Cañada) cut the Lyons' deficit to 28-21 with 16:52 on the clock, but consecutive buckets from Sargent pushed the Blue's lead back to 13 (34-21) at the 14:29 mark.
Wellesley opened up its largest lead of the game (40-23) on a jumper by Weaver, but Karraker responded with a pair of three's to close the gap to 13 points (42-29) with 7:47 to play. The Blue were able to capitalize on a number of MHC fouls as Sargent went to the line for four free throw makes, while Weaver nailed a jumper to make it 48-29 with just 4:03 to go.
Mount Holyoke found a rhythm of its own at the line with Karraker and DeMarchena both sealing their shots, but it wasn't enough as Wellesley played strong over the final minute for the 48-35 victory.
Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Mount Holyoke travels to Coast Guard for a 7:30pm contest, while Wellesley hosts Babson at 7pm.