Wellesley Basketball Extends Streak with Win Over Mount Holyoke

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College basketball used hot shooting, balanced offense, and stifling defense to grab its fifth consecutive victory with a 65-35 win over Mount Holyoke on Saturday afternoon at Keohane Sports Center. The Blue, who shot 51% from the floor – their second best performance of the season -- now stand at 8-6 on the year, 7-3 in NEWMAC play. The Lyons drop to 4-11 overall, 2-8 in the conference.

The Blue rocketed out of the gate, capitalizing on eight steals by five different players to grab an 18-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Morgyne Weaver, Courtney Jackson, Ashleigh Sargent, Malia Maier, Meghan Sargent, and Chelsi Scott all contributed points during the run.

The Lyons stopped the bleeding with a layup from Jennine Vizcaino at the 13:30 mark, and trimmed the lead to 13 with a three-pointer from Kate Karraker. But another Wellesley surge pushed the score to 30-11 with 4:53 left in the period. The teams traded buckets in the closing minutes of the half, as the Blue went into the break with a 34-17 advantage.

Wellesley dominated the first period offensively and defensively, out-shooting the visitors 52% to 25%, while racking up 10 steals. The Blue also controlled the boards in the opening stanza, grabbing 19 rebounds to the Lyons' 11.

After Wellesley's Maier sank a three-pointer to open the second half, Mount Holyoke used back-to-back buckets from Angelica Pascual and Amber Legare to trim the lead to 37-22. Wellesley responded with consecutive treys from Meghan Sargent and Maier, opening a 21-point cushion with 14:20 remaining.  The Lyons cut the lead to 49-30 with 10:34 left, but would get no closer as the Blue cruised to the 65-35 win.

Maier had another great all-around performance, recording a double-double with a season-high 12 assists and 10 points. She also added six steals and five rebounds with just one turnover. Jackson had team-highs of 12 points and seven rebounds, while Weaver and Scott each recorded 10 points. Weaver added six rebounds, while Scott rounded out her day with five rebounds and a career-high five steals. Wrapping up the Wellesley leaders, Ashleigh Sargent recorded eight points, while Meghan Sargent picked up seven. 

Karraker paced Mount Holyoke with 12 points, hitting four three pointers. Pascual recorded 11 points, while Vizcaino, Jasmine Brown, and Legare contributed four points each. Legare led the Lyons under the basket with a team-high seven rebounds, while also picking up three steals and two blocks. Rounding out the MHC box score, Brown recorded six assists. 

Both squads return to action on Wednesday, January 23, at 7pm, when Wellesley travels to MIT and Mount Holyoke travels to Smith.