Wheaton Bests Basketball, 57-46

Game Statistics

???NORTON, Mass. (Jan. 6, 2010) – Paced by senior forward Jenny Champney, the Wheaton College women’s basketball team topped New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Mount Holyoke College 57-46 this evening at Emerson Gymnasium. It was Wheaton’s fourth straight win over Mount Holyoke and its fifth straight overall.

Champney finished with a squad best 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and also pulled down five rebounds. Wheaton also received a boost from first year guard Gabby Barbera, who came off the bench to post 11 points. As a team, Wheaton converted just 29.1% (16-55) of its attempts from the field but drained 20 free throws. The hosts outrebounded Mount Holyoke 40-37.

Senior guard Erin Cain racked up a game high 15 points to lead the way for Mount Holyoke. She went 4-of-7 from the field and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. First year guard Angelica Pascual registered eight points and a game high 11 boards. Meanwhile, senior forward Jess Olson added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Mount Holyoke shot 30.9% (17-55) from the floor overall.

The teams went back and forth over the first 10:33 of the contest, with neither side leading by more than five points. During that span, there were six ties and a pair of lead changes.

With the game knotted at 15-15, Wheaton erupted for a 16-2 spurt over the next five minutes to gain control. A three pointer by first year guard Gabby Barbera capped off the run and gave the hosts a 31-17 edge at the 4:00 mark. It was her second trey of the sequence and her team’s third. Kruse also converted a conventional three point play during the span.

Wheaton took a 33-22 advantage into the locker room. Champney and Barbera led all scorers with nine points apiece at the break. Pascual had six for the guests.

Mount Holyoke exploded out of the gate in the second stanza, scoring 11 of the first 13 points. A three pointer by sophomore guard Christine Chancy sliced the deficit to 35-33 at the 16:02 mark.

From there it was all Wheaton (7-5, 4-1 NEWMAC). The hosts regained momentum with a 10-2 spurt over the next eight minutes to open up a 45-35 cushion. They led by as many as 12 points (55-43) in the waning minutes.

Mount Holyoke (4-8, 2-3 NEWMAC) will return to action on Saturday, when it hosts Babson College for a league game beginning at 2:00 p.m.