SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Despite outscoring the Owls in the second half of action, the Mount Holyoke College basketball team couldn't bounce back against Westfield State, falling 65-57 in non-conference action. With the victory, the Owls move to 5-5 on the season, while the Lyons slip to 3-6 overall.
The Owls jumped out to a quick lead, going up by seven (9-2) in the first three minutes of the contest. Westfield State was aided during that stretch by a pair of buckets from Gabby Felix and a three pointer from Alyssa Darling.
Mount Holyoke responded and closed the gap to four (9-5) on a jumper from junior Amber Legare and a free throw make by classmate Nicole DeMarchena, but the Owls continued to press at the 15:14 mark as Brianna Lowry sank a jumper for the 11-5 advantage.
Another layup by DeMarchena closed it back to five but Westfield State took a 17-8 lead at the 11:19 mark on a layup by Keri Doldoorian. Junior captain Kate Karraker's jumper made it a seven-point game but the Owls went on a 7-0 run, including a Jen Ashton three-pointer to make it a 14-point (24-10) game.
Westfield State continued to dominate the action over the remainder of the second half, but the Lyons were able to pull it to within nine (31-22) with seven seconds remaining. MHC took advantage of several Owl fouls as sophomore Genelle Green nailed one of two free throws and Karraker drained both of hers.
The second half saw the Lyons step up and battle back as senior Jennine Vizcaino sank a layup just 43 seconds into the frame to cut the deficit to seven (31-24). Karraker added a bucket as well, but layup and two free throws from Doldoorian pushed the lead back to 11 (37-26) with 17:04 to play.
Westfield State led by as many as 14 (44-30) after a jumper by Lowry at the 14:41 mark, but Mount Holyoke bounced back once more, aided by back-to-back three-pointers from Karrker to close it to a seven-point deficit (53-46) with 6:17 remaining.
Legare then took advantage of a three-point play to make it 59-52 with 3:45 left and a free throw from Green closed the gap to six (59-53). The Lyons closed out the game with a layup from Karraker, but could not get any closer, falling by the 65-57 margin.
Leading the way for Westfield State were Felix and Doldoorian, who each recorded a game-best 16 points. Forbassaw Nkamebo dropped in 10 rebounds, while Ashton added 10 points and a game-best five assists.
For the Lyons, Karraker recorded a game-best 16 points, while Legare had 13 points and 13 rebounds. DeMarchena added nine points and eight caroms with a game-best four blocks, while Vizcaino had 11 points.
The Lyons return to action on Thursday when they travel to Simmons for a 7pm game. Westfield State is also in action on Thursday, hosting the University of Saint Joseph at 5:30pm.
Team photo of Westfield State and Mount Holyoke Basketball teams courtesy of Westfield State. The two schools, which are separated by 19.4 miles, travelled 1680 miles to play each other in the San Juan Shootout.
