Providence, R.I. - December 3, 2019 - Despite another impressive effort from junior forward Annika Brooks (Portland, Maine), the Mount Holyoke College basketball team fell to Johnson & Wales, 88-37, on Tuesday evening inside the Wildcat Center.
Brooks posted a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds over 40 minutes of play, while first-year guard Ellie Hayward (Westmoreland, N.H.) contributed five points and eight boards. First-year forward Kyra Sanborn-Burch (Tariffville, Conn.) also had five points and four rebounds.
Back-to-back jumpers from Brooks and Kelly Lynch (Quincy, Mass.) helped the Lyons keep pace with Johnson & Wales in the early goings of the game, before the Wildcats took a five-point lead with 5:11 remaining in the stanza. A basket from Brooks cut Mount Holyoke College's deficit to three with under five minutes to play, before the hosts went on a 11-0 run capped by a three-pointer at the 2:59 mark.
Brooks continued her strong play in the second quarter, picking up a basket midway through the stanza, before Hayward drained a free-throw at the 2:53 mark. From there, Olivia Aries (Brewster, N.Y.) made two free throws but the Lyons went into the halftime break trailing.
Brooks made back-to-back baskets just 21 seconds apart to spark the Lyons to begin the third quarter, before the junior drilled another jumper midway through the frame. Brooks continued to pace Mount Holyoke College with five points late in the third, but Johnson & Wales was able to take a lead into the fourth quarter.
Brooks and Hayward were each credited with baskets to begin the fourth quarter, and Sanborn-Burch converted a pair of free throws but it was not enough for the Lyons to overcome the deficit.
The Lyons were 15-of-53 (28.3%) from the field over 40 minutes of play, while the Wildcats were 42.7 percent (35-for-82). The Lyons had 16 points in the paint and picked up 38 rebounds in the setback.
Mount Holyoke College will now move on to a contest versus Rivier on Thursday, December 5 in Howard Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
