Thomas Nets 23 as Blue Basketball Defeats MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –Led by Julia Thomas' game-high 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting, the Wellesley College women's basketball team defeated host MIT, 58-44, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game on Saturday afternoon. Clara Yuan paced the Engineers (4-17, 0-11 NEWMAC) with 15 points.
 
MIT opened the game with a 7-5 edge, but a put-back by Jessica Duff started a 16-5 run which gave the Blue (10-9, 4-7 NEWMAC) a 21-12 lead at the 8:59 mark. A trey by Alice Yeh and a three-point play from Simmons quickly trimmed the deficit to three (21-18). Wellesley responded with a 15-5 spurt to close the half. Thomas tallied nine points during the stretch, helping power the Blue to a 36-23 advantage at the break.
 
Wellesley continued to cruise in the second stanza, enjoying a 14-point margin (45-31) courtesy of back-to-back layups by Thomas with 11:16 on the clock. Following two minutes of scoreless play, the Engineers generated a small rally which narrowed the gap to nine (49-40) with just over six minutes remaining. The Blue countered with eight straight points during the next 3:30, putting the game out of reach for the Cardinal and Gray.
 
Simmons finished the day with 10 points, a game-high four steals, and two assists. Allison Simi grabbed six rebounds and three steals as Hannah Sparkman and Cheryl Kwinn each collected five boards. Yeh notched seven points while Kristen Whaley bolstered the Engineers' rebounding corps with four caroms.
 
In addition to her game-high scoring performance, Thomas snagged nine rebounds.Duff totaled 17 boards and 14 points as Courtney Richter amassed 10 points, nine caroms, and four assists. Elisha Orama posted two steals while Nicole Labee contributed four assists.
 
Both squads will continue NEWMAC action at home on Wednesday, Feb. 18. MIT will host Wheaton College while Wellesley squares off with Clark University.