WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College basketball used hot shooting, balanced offense, and stifling defense to grab its fifth consecutive victory with a 65-35 win over Mount Holyoke on Saturday afternoon at Keohane Sports Center. The Blue, who shot 51% from the floor – their second best performance of the season -- now stand at 8-6 on the year, 7-3 in NEWMAC play. The Lyons drop to 4-11 overall, 2-8 in the conference.
The Blue rocketed out of the gate, capitalizing on eight steals by five different players to grab an 18-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Morgyne Weaver, Courtney Jackson, Ashleigh Sargent, Malia Maier, Meghan Sargent, and Chelsi Scott all contributed points during the run.
The Lyons stopped the bleeding with a layup from Jennine Vizcaino at the 13:30 mark, and trimmed the lead to 13 with a three-pointer from Kate Karraker. But another Wellesley surge pushed the score to 30-11 with 4:53 left in the period. The teams traded buckets in the closing minutes of the half, as the Blue went into the break with a 34-17 advantage.
Wellesley dominated the first period offensively and defensively, out-shooting the visitors 52% to 25%, while racking up 10 steals. The Blue also controlled the boards in the opening stanza, grabbing 19 rebounds to the Lyons' 11.
After Wellesley's Maier sank a three-pointer to open the second half, Mount Holyoke used back-to-back buckets from Angelica Pascual and Amber Legare to trim the lead to 37-22. Wellesley responded with consecutive treys from Meghan Sargent and Maier, opening a 21-point cushion with 14:20 remaining. The Lyons cut the lead to 49-30 with 10:34 left, but would get no closer as the Blue cruised to the 65-35 win.
Karraker led the visitors with 12 points, followed by Pascual with 11. Legare, Viscaino, and Jasmine Brown added four points each. Legare also led the visitors with seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
A balanced Wellesley offense received points from every player, with four finishing in double figures. Jackson led the way with 12, with Maier, Weaver, and Scott tallying ten each. Jackson also led the Blue with seven rebounds, while Weaver grabbed six, and Maier and Scott snagged five a piece. Wellesley's defense tallied 19 steals in the contest, led by Maier with six and Scott with five. Maier also recorded 12 assists on the day.
Both squads return to action on Wednesday, January 23, at 7pm, when Wellesley travels to MIT and Mount Holyoke travels to Smith.
Story courtesy of Wellesley Sports Information Office.
