Basketball Downs WNEC in Opener, 71-65

Game Statistics

???SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Nov. 17, 2009) – The double-double machine has returned. Powered by senior forward Jess Olson, the Mount Holyoke College women’s basketball team picked up a 71-65 triumph over non-conference foe Western New England College this evening at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. It was the 2009-10 season opener for both squads.

After a one year absence from the team, Olson was dominant in her return. She posted her 16th career double-double on 20 points and a game best 15 rebounds. Olson converted 11 of her 12 free throw attempts for the Lyons, who won their season opener for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.

Mount Holyoke shot 39.0% (23-59) from the field and 84.2% (16-19) from the charity stripe. The Lyons finished with a 38-37 rebounding edge and drained nine three pointers. In addition the Olson, the hosts also received solid production from first year Angelica Pascual and senior Erin Cain, who tallied 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Leading the way for Western New England was first year guard Emily Savino, who poured in a game high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Kailah Al-Darraji drained three shots from beyond the arc en route to 17 points. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Sarah Proper added eight points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Golden Bears connected on 40.7% (22-54) of their attempts from the field but just 60.7% (17-28) of their free throw chances. They were forced into 27 turnovers.

Mount Holyoke jumped out to an 11-2 edge 4:17 into the contest and led 16-7 following a three pointer by sophomore guard Christine Chancy at the 12:07 mark of the opening stanza. Western New England answered with a 9-0 over the next three minutes to knot things up at 16-16.

Highlighted by back-to-back treys by Cain, the Lyons erupted for nine straight points of their own late in the first half. Sophomore forward Tricia Chase capped off the spurt with a pair of free throws with just under a minute remaining in the frame. Savino answered with a conventional three point play at the other end to reduce Western New England’s halftime deficit to 36-30. She led all scorers with 11 at the break. Cain had 10 for the home team.

The Golden Bears recorded 10 of the first 13 points out of the locker room to gain a 40-39 edge, but Pascual responded with consecutive three pointers to put Mount Holyoke in front 45-40 at the 16:01 mark. The Lyons then rallied for 10 unanswered points to push their cushion to 59-45 with just under 10 minutes to go in the second half. Senior center Kate Shafir knocked down her second three pointer of the night to close out the run.

Refusing to go away, Western New England erupted for 14 straight points over the next five minutes to tie things up at 59-59 with 4:44 remaining in regulation. Al-Darraji keyed the run with a three pointer and two free throws.

From there, it was all Olson. The forward scored the Lyons final 10 points, as they outscored the Golden Bears 11-6 down the stretch. In addition to converting seven of her eight free throw attempts over the final four minutes, she knocked down a key three pointer that put Mount Holyoke in front 68-63 with just 40 seconds on the clock.

The Lyons (1-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) will return to action on Friday, when they face off against Bates College in the opening round of the Brandeis University Tip-Off Tournament at 8:00 p.m. Depending on the result of that contest, they will play against either the host Judges or the Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon. The Western New England College Tournament is also slated to take place this weekend. The Golden Bears (0-1, 0-0 TCCC) will meet up with Bay Path College on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. before taking on either Trinity College or Norwich University on Sunday.