SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College shot a blistering 51.8% from the field to post a 72-47 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) basketball action on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Blue move to 12-2 overall and 9-1 in the conference, while the Lyons slip to 4-11 and 1-9 in the NEWMAC.
Wellesley, which shot an impressive 58.1% (18-of-31) in the opening half, took the game's first lead on a three-pointer from senior guard Leslie Leong (Sacramento, Calif./John F. Kennedy). The Lyons tied it on a shot from downtown by junior captain Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.), but Leong answered with her second three-pointer to give the Blue a lead it would not relinquish in the game.
Wellesley led by as many as 13 points (27-14) following a jumper from first year forward Ailis Hanley (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) before Mount Holyoke final battled back with back-to-back jumpers from senior Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) and sophomore Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School) to make it a 27-18 game with 6:34 to play.
Despite the momentum, the Lyons could not hold off the Blue, who went on a 15-7 run over the final 5:19 of the first half to take a 44-27 lead into the locker room. Junior guard Meghan Sargent (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Brady) contributed five points during the stretch.
In the second half, MHC got a pair of quick buckets from junior forward Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) to make it a 44-31 game. Karraker chipped in a three at the 14:56 mark to cut the deficit to 12 (46-34), but Wellesley took advantage of several turnovers to swing the momentum back in their favor and take a 21 point (55-34) 
lead following a trey from junior guard Natalie Anderson (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) with 11:57 to go.
A jumper and a pair of free throw makes from Vizcaino dropped it to a 55-38 score, but a jumper from Sargent eventually pushed it back out to a 23 point (63-40) lead with 5:31 to play in the contest. Wellesley, which shot 42.9% (6-of-14) from three-point range, benefited from a Kendall Bianchi (Arlington, Va./Sidwell Friends) shot to make it a 66-40 game and the Blue held on down the stretch for the win.
Leading the way for Wellesley, which also went 8-of-9 (88.9%) from the free throw line, was Leong's game-best 17 points. She was a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range, while also adding seven boards, two assists and two steals. Junior forward Morgyne Weaver (Oklahoma City, Okla./Mt. St. Mary) chipped in with 11 points, including three assists, a block and two steals.
For the Lyons, Legare added 15 points and a game-best 12 rebounds. She also had a game-high two blocks with an assist and two steals. Karraker added 14 points, going 4-of-10 from three-point range, while Vizcaino chipped in with 11 points, including a game-best five assists.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Sunday when it hosts WPI at 2pm at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. Wellesley returns to the court on Wednesday when it hosts Coast Guard at 7pm.
Photo of Legare courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
