Blue Basketball Drops Heartbreaker in Overtime

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Junior forward Tricia Chase knocked down a short jumper in the final seconds of overtime to push the Mount Holyoke College women's basketball team to a thrilling 48-46 triumph over Wellesley College this afternoon at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. With the win, the Lyons avenged an early season setback at Wellesley. 

Chase turned in another outstanding effort for Mount Holyoke, which converted 35.3% (18-51) of its shots from the field and 72.7% (8-11) of its free throw attempts. The junior recorded her third double-double of the season on 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Lyons also received a boost from sophomore guard Angelica Pascual, who drained three shots from beyond the arc en route to a game high 20 points. Senior guard Christine Chancy tallied 10 points, eight boards and three assists, while first year forward Jocelyn Portmann chipped in with eight rebounds off the bench. Mount Holyoke finished with a 45-30 edge on the glass.

Sophomore forward Becca Kimball paced Wellesley with 16 points. She was joined in double digits by junior guard Elisha Orama, who collected 12 points and six boards. First year guard Leslie Leong posted nine points, four assists and six steals, while sophomore guard Malia Maier added seven points, seven rebounds and nine steals. As a team, the Blue forced Mount Holyoke into 30 turnovers. They shot 30.9% (17-55) from the floor, making six three-pointers in the process.

Neither side led by more than six points in the game, which featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes.

Mount Holyoke took a 14-12 advantage into the locker room and led 19-17 following a short jumper by Chase three minutes into the second half.

A layup by Kimball put Wellesley in front 20-19 at the 14:48 mark and started a 9-4 run. The Blue enjoyed a 29-23 cushion after Kimball completed a conventional three-point play with 12:45 remaining in regulation.

The Lyons responded with seven straight points over the next three minutes. They led 31-29 following a pair of Chancy free throws at the 8:51 mark. Pascual's third three-pointer of the day put the hosts in front 37-34 with just over five minutes to go in the second stanza.

Maier answered with five straight points on a layup and a three-pointer to put Wellesley back in front 39-37.The Blue still led by two points after Chancy and Maier exchanged buckets.

Mount Holyoke knotted things up at 41-41 with 39 seconds remaining in regulation, when Chase putback an offensive rebound. Orama missed a three-pointer at the other end, and the game went to overtime.

After falling behind by two points in the early stages of the extra session, Pascual converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give Mount Holyoke a 44-43 edge. Orama answered with her fourth trifecta of the afternoon on Wellesley's ensuing possession, but a layup by Pascual tied things at 46-46 at the 3:19 mark.

From there, both sides went scoreless until Chase beat the shot clock with a short jumper from the middle paint with 15 seconds remaining in overtime. Senior Emilie Methot set up what proved to be the game winning basket with an inbound pass from the baseline.

The Blue had a chance to send things to double overtime on their final possession, but a layup attempt by Kimball rimmed out at the buzzer. 

Both squads will resume their NEWMAC schedules on the road on Wednesday. Mount Holyoke (5-13, 3-9 NEWMAC) will visit longtime rival Smith College at 7:00 p.m., while Wellesley (9-9, 6-6 NEWMAC) will travel to the Coast Guard Academy for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.