Lyons outrebound Wellesley but can't hold on to early lead

Isabel Cordes had seven rebounds to help Mount Holyoke outperform Wellesley on the glass in a NEWMAC loss on Jan. 18, 2023. (RJB Sports file photo)
Isabel Cordes had seven rebounds to help Mount Holyoke outperform Wellesley on the glass in a NEWMAC loss on Jan. 18, 2023. (RJB Sports file photo)

Game Leaders

Mount Holyoke College
Pts: Kendall Maurer - 10
Reb: Kendall Maurer - 8
Ast: 2 Players (#14, #34) - 2
Wellesley College
Pts: Pujita Shukla - 11
Reb: Madison Wieboldt - 7
Ast: Sairah O'Brien-Forde - 4

Team Stats

Mount Holyoke College
Wellesley College

Field Goals

(10-45)
(19-61)

Field Goal %

22.2%
31.1%

Rebounds

43
41

Assists

4
10

Turnovers

31
19

Pts off Turnovers

4
20

2nd Chance Pts

2
6

Pts in the Paint

4
20

Fastbreak Pts

0
9

Bench Pts

5
20
full stats

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College basketball team took a 15-8 lead in the first quarter but turned cold offensively, and the host Blue shrugged off the deficit to win 49-30 in a NEWMAC game on Wednesday night.

Sophomore Cal McGonagle (Yarmouth, Maine) hit a 3-pointer, assisted on a jumper by sophomore Marley Berano (Lady Lake, Fla.), and made two free throws to stake Mount Holyoke to a 7-0 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter.

Wellesley narrowed the gap to 7-6, but first-year Kendall Maurer (Orinda, Calif.) responded with a three and a layup on consecutive possessions, and junior Teal Howle (Florence, S.C.) made another three in answer to a jumper by Wellesley's Anna Greenthal for a 15-8 Mount Holyoke lead.

Wellesley's Pujita Shukla hit a jumper with 14 seconds to go in the period, however, to begin a 9-3 Blue run that carried the hosts into their first lead at 19-18 and caused Lyons head coach Jackie Ward to call timeout with 5:23 remaining in the second period.

Maurer made her second three to return the lead to the Lyons briefly, but Mount Holyoke finished out the half unable to score on its final nine possessions of the half, while Wellesley crept ahead at 27-21 at the break.

Mount Holyoke's offensive drought lengthened into the second half, as the Lyons were held to 1-13 shooting and outscored 9-2 in the third quarter for a 36-23 deficit going into the final period. Points continued to be hard to come by in the fourth quarter, however. A three by McGonagle with 7:05 to go made it 39-26, but Wellesley made two baskets before Mount Holyoke could cut further into the lead.

Shukla led Wellesley (7-9, 1-1 NEWMAC) from off the bench with 11 points and six steals.

Maurer led Mount Holyoke (2-15, 0-2 NEWMAC) in scoring for the third straight game, with 10 points and eight rebounds. Junior Isabel Cordes (Yorktown, Va.) and first-year Amelia Knaysi (Grand Junction, Colo.) had seven rebounds apiece and first-year Taryn White (Alexandria, Va.) had six, helping the Lyons outrebound the Blue 43-41.

The Lyons continue NEWMAC play at WPI this Saturday at 1pm.