South Hadley, Mass. - January 12, 2022 - Despite a pair of 14-point performances from Cal McGonagle (Yarmouth, Maine) and Annika Brooks (Portland, Maine), the Mount Holyoke College basketball team fell to visiting New England College, 65-40, on Wednesday afternoon in Howard Gymnasium.
With the loss, Mount Holyoke is now 2-4 overall while the Pilgrims improve to 8-5 on the year.
McGonagle notched a double double as the first-year added 11 rebounds to her 14-point effort, while Brooks followed with seven rebounds.
Leading New England College was Alissia Corona, who netted 15 points, while Asia Jones followed with 14 in the win.
New England College opened the game with back-to-back threes from Corona and Jones to take a 6-0 lead, before the visitors controlled a 10-2 lead following a lay-up from Ericka Pratt at the 6:13 mark of the first quarter. From there, the Lyons answered with a 10-2 run which was capped by a free throw from Brooks to make it 12-12 with 1:32 on the clock. From there, the Pilgrims scored the next five points to take a 17-12 lead after 10 minutes.
New England College pushed their lead to 12 following a lay-up from Barbara Nivol with 8:24 remaining in the second quarter, making it 24-12. Brooks netted the Lyons first bucket of the frame at the 4:36 mark before the senior converted a lay-up to make it 34-16 with 2:29 left in the half. With time expiring in the first half, McGonagle dribbled up the court and pulled up from distance, converting the buzzer beating and sending the Lyons into the locker room trailing 36-22 at the half.
Brooks converted another and Emily Mock (Bangor, Maine) drilled a three to pull the Lyons back to within 20 at the early stages of the second half. Mount Holyoke would end up holding a slight 11-10 advantage in the final quarter, but New England College prevailed, 65-40.
Up next, Mount Holyoke College will open New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday, January 15 when the Lyons travel to Emerson College for a 3 p.m. tilt.
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