MILTON, Mass. - Sophomore Katlyn Grover scored a career-and-game high 31 points, but Pine Manor earned the 89-49 victory in the consolation game of the Curry College Tip-Off Tournament. With the win, the Gators improve to 1-2 on the young season, while the Lyons slip to 0-3 overall.
MHC opened the game facing an 8-0 deficit, but a jumper at 7:45 by Grover put the Lyons on the board. Buckets from Grover and junior Leah Hodges pulled Mount Holyoke closer, but it was Grover who cut the advantage to three (12-9) with a shot from beyond the arc at 4:59. Despite the momentum, the Lyons were unable to hold off the Gators, who went on an 8-1 run to close out the quarter with a 20-10 lead.
Pine Manor carried that momentum into the second half with a 15-0 run to go up by a 35-12 margin. Grover nailed another three-pointer to close the gap with 5:45 to play, but an ensuing layup from Aleah Lauti gave Pine Manor the 24-point advantage once again. Hodges nailed a jumper and free throw makes from rookie GraceAnne Woods pushed the score to 42-19 with 3:15 on the clock. A three-point play from first year Raquel Fitzpatrick closed the gap to 20 (44-24) and a shot from the line by Grover made it a 46-25 Gator lead at the half.
Suffering through a number of missed baskets to open the third, the Lyons rebounded strong as Grover sank three straight free throws for a 52-28 score at 7:06. Mount Holyoke went on a strong run to close out the quarter, beginning with a jumper from Grover at 2:55. Fitzpatrick sank a layup, followed by another Grover shot and a three-pointer from Hodges to make it 62-39 with 1:13 on the clock. Another trey from Grover and a pair of free throw makes by Hodges with seven seconds left sent the teams into the final quarter with Pine Manor up 64-44.
The Gators came out strong once again in the final frame, but a trey from Grover got the Lyons back in action. Grover would sink another jumper with 5:23 to play, but the Pine Manor defense was solid down the stretch, not allowing another MHC basket enroute to the win.
Kayleigh Merrell led the Gators with 11 points, adding six boards and two steals. Erica Jones added 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor with two assists and two steals, while Taylor Ingram martin also posted 10 points with four rebounds. Shaquanda Middleton notched seven rebounds and a game-high four steals.
For Mount Holyoke, Grover also added three rebounds and a steal in addition to being named to the All-Tournament Team. She shot 11-of-25 from the floor and 4-of-11 from three-point range. Her 31-point effort was the fifth largest point total in a game in program history. Hodges added nine points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Fitzpatrick had five points, four boards and two steals.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday at 5:30pm when they host Elms College at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
