SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- New England College built a 45-17 lead after three quarters and held on to defeat the Mount Holyoke College basketball team 54-45, staving off a furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the host Lyons on Wednesday night in Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
Mount Holyoke (0-3) outscored NEC (2-2) 28-9 in the fourth quarter but ran out of time to complete the comeback. First-year forward Emma Goff (Cohasset, Mass.) had nine points, five rebounds and a steal in the period before fouling out of the game with 39 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Libby Harris (Foxborough, Mass.) scored eight points in the period, and senior guard Teal Howle (Florence, S.C.) had four points and all of her game-high five assists in the period.
Kathleen Rodriguez led the Pilgrims with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Macy Gordon scored 10 points and Juliana Hernandez grabbed eight rebounds to go with two assists.
Goff finished with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds, while Harris scored 11 points and added three assists.
Mount Holyoke fell behind 16-3 after one quarter, committing 11 turnovers and making only one shot, a 3-pointer by Harris, while Gordon scored eight points to pace the Pilgrims.
NEC's bench scored 12 points in the second quarter as the Pilgrims extended their lead to 30-9 at the half.
Mount Holyoke settled offensively in the third quarter, shooting 4-of-7 and cutting its turnovers down to six for the period, but the Pilgrims outscored the Lyons 15-8 in the period. Makiah Scott and Alissia Corona both made 3-pointers in the period off the bench for NEC.
Mount Holyoke held NEC scoreless for over four minutes of game time crossing into the fourth quarter. A three by Harris late in the third, followed by another three by Harris 20 seconds into the fourth, was followed by a Harris steal and assist to Howle for a layup to cut the gap to 45-22 with 8:56 left in regulation. Gordon hit a layup to end the Lyons' streak of seven unanswered points, but sophomore Kendall Maurer (Orinda, Calif.) answered with a three. Howle fed Goff for a layup at 7:59, and Goff converted a three-point play off an offensive putback with 7:05 left in the game, cutting the deficit to 47-30.
Mount Holyoke continued its improbable comeback attempt, getting a jumper by Howle, another three by Harris, a layup by Harris, and a baseline jumper by first-year forward Sofia Francisco (Boston, Mass.) with 2:37 to go that made it 49-39. A layup by Francisco cut the deficit into single digits at 49-41 with 2:25 remaining in the game.
Goff made a steal with under a minute remaining, got fouled and made both free throws to make it a five-point game at 50-45 with 52 seconds left. Goff then fouled Amya Moss, her fifth and final foul, and Moss made 1-of-2 free throws to return NEC's lead to six points. Mackenzie McDonald made another free throw with 37 second left to make it a seven-point game at 52-45, and she added two free throws with a second left for the final score.
Mount Holyoke will play at Johnson & Wales on Saturday at noon.
