South Hadley, Mass. - December 5, 2019 - First-year point guard Ellie Hayward (Westmoreland, N.H.) posted a career-best 20 points but the Mount Holyoke College basketball team fell to visiting Rivier University, 64-48, on Thursday evening in Howard Gymnasium.
Hayward notched 20 points on the evening, 12 of which came in the first half, as the first-year also chipped in eight rebounds, two assists and one block. Mikayla McEwen (South Hadley, Mass.) had 10 points and 14 rebounds in the setback, while Annika Brooks (Portland, Maine) controlled 16 rebounds to go along with four points.
Hayward opened the scoring for the game with a three-pointer just 1:54 into the contest that gave the Lyons an early 3-0 lead, before the Raiders answered with five-straight points to take a 5-3 advantage with 6:45 on the clock. Hayward evened up the score at five apiece with another jumper at the 5:44 mark, but Rivier would answer with a 6-0 run to control an 11-5 advantage with 3:24 on the clock. From there, Olivia Aries (Brewster, N.Y.) would hit a jumper at 3:04 and Olive Oswald (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) converted one of her own as time expired in the first frame, but Rivier would take a 17-9 lead into the second quarter.
With 7:42 to play in the second quarter, Hayward hit a jumper and then buried a three-pointer in the Lyons' next possession to pull the hosts to within eight, before Kelly Lynch (Quincy, Mass.) and Maria-Lucia Delgado (Bronx, N.Y.) made back-to-back shots, making it 27-20, Raiders, with 4:47 remaining in the second quarter. With 11 seconds left before halftime, McEwen converted a three-pointer, but the Raiders would take a 34-23 lead into the halftime break.
Hayward would continue her offensive success in the second half, as the first-year scored the initial points for the Lyons in the third quarter, before Brooks scored at the 5:04 mark to pull Mount Holyoke College to within 12. Hayward would convert another chance with 2:41 on the clock, but the Raiders would close the quarter on 8-0 run to take a 53-31 lead after three.
McEwen made a jumper and followed with a three-pointer to make it 55-36, Rivier, with 7:57 to play, before a pair of free throws from Hayward at the 6:58 mark cut the Lyons' deficit to 17. Hayward, Brooks and Kyra Sanborn-Burch (Tariffville, Conn.) would all make baskets down the stretch, but the Lyons were not able to mount a comeback, as Rivier escaped with the 64-48 victory.
Mount Holyoke College, which dropped to 1-7 with the loss, was 21-of-76 (27.6%) in the setback, while the Raiders were 24-for-67 (35.8%) over 40 minutes of play. The Lyons picked up 49 rebounds in the contest, 20 of which were on the offensive end of the floor.
Up next, the Lyons will return to Howard Gymnasium on Saturday, December 7 and will host the University of Saint Joseph at 1 p.m.
For the latest updates on Mount Holyoke College Athletics, follow the Lyons on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
