KEENE, N.H. (Nov. 16, 2012) – The Mount Holyoke College basketball team kicked off its 2012-13 campaign in fine fashion on Friday evening with a 70-44 victory over Mount Ida College at the Keene State Tip-Off Tournament. The Lyons will now face the host Owls, who defeated York (N.Y.) by a 96-36 margin, on Saturday in the championship game at 3pm.
The win also marked the 100th career victory for head coach Michelle Scecina, who is in her ninth season at the helm. Scecina now has a 100-110 all-time mark with the Lyons.
The Lyons jumped out to a lead they would not relinquish, taking a quick 12-point lead (16-4) behind back-to-back jumpers from sophomore forward Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive). Mount Ida battled back as Evebonee Acosta nailed a three-pointer and Abbey Fedigan sank a layup to cut it to 16-9 with 13:13 to play.
The Lyons countered and quickly built up a double-digit lead as successful free throws from sophomore guard Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) made it a 13-point lead (24-11) with 10:20 left in the opening half.
Mount Holyoke continued to pour in the buckets, making it a 33-17 margin on a jumper by junior forward Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) at 5:28. A three-pointed by senior guard Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (N.H.) gave the Lyons their largest margin of the half at 38-18 and MHC went into halftime with a 39-22 lead.
In the second half, Mount Holyoke continued to maintain its large lead right off the bat as Legare got things going with back-to-back buckets to make it 43-23.
Karraker added a three-pointer at 17:31 for an 18-point lead (46-27) and Mount Holyoke continued to take advantage on the boards, hauling down 25 rebounds for a game total of 52.
Consecutive layups by Mount Ida's Fedigan and Leslie Campbell cut the deficit to 56-42 with 6:37 remaining, but the Lyons responded as Pascual sank a shot from three-point range to push it back to a 17-point margin. She and Legare wrapped up the scoring in the final minute, giving MHC a 26-point lead and the 70-44 victory.
For the game, Legare and Pascual both poured in a game-best 21 points. Legare racked up a double-double, adding 10 rebounds. She went 10-for-14 from the field. Pascual nearly grabbed a double-double of her own, finishing with nine rebounds, while going 4-for-9 from three-point range. Additionally, she added a game-best five assists and a steal.
Karraker also had an outstanding effort for the Lyons, chipping in with 12 points and eight rebounds, while adding four assists.
Mount Ida saw Acosta finish with a team-high 18 points with six rebounds and four assists. Jenn Rafuse had a team-high 10 rebounds, while adding a game-best three steals.
