Blue Basketball Tops MIT to Win Fifth Straight Game

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Wellesley basketball team used a strong second half performance sparked by senior Leslie Leong to defeat MIT 54-42 on Saturday afternoon at Keohane Sports Center. The win lifts the Blue to 7-2 on the season, 4-1 in NEWMAC play. The Engineers drop to 5-5 overall, 2-3 in the conference.

After a cold first half, during which MIT held Wellesley to just 26% from the field, the Blue turned things around in the second half, shooting 48% from the floor while holding MIT to 30%. Leong led the charge, scoring all 12 of her points in the stanza, while pulling down five boards. 

For Wellesley, Leong ended the game with 12 points and six rebounds, while junior Morgyne Weaver finished with team-highs of 13 points and four steals. Junior Meghan Sargent finished with 10 points and a team-high seven boards, while also adding a three assists. Sophomore Natalie Anderson and senior Katie Shulenberger rounded out the Blue offense with five points each.

MIT got a game-high 16 points from sophomore Sabrina Drammis, while junior Mari Kordell picked up 11 points and a game-high five assists. Sophomore Durva Bhandare ended with seven points and six boards, while classmate Maya Ramachandran pulled down eight rebounds. Rounding out the MIT stat sheet, senior Rachel Hunt recorded eight rebounds to go along with five blocks.

The Engineers jumped to a 7-2 advantage in the opening minutes of the game with hot shooting and stifling inside defense, highlighted by two buckets from Drammis and a blocked shot from Ramachandran. Wellesley recovered by scoring nine straight, including five points from Weaver and three points from Chelsi Scott, for a 10-7 lead with 14:15 remaining.

Kordell stopped the bleeding for the Engineers with a running jumper at the 12:11 mark. Drammis followed with a layup as the visitors retook the lead at 11-10.

Both squads stalled until Wellesley used a mini-surge to take a 16-13 lead on two Shulenberger free throws. Sargent followed with three more to give the Blue a 19-13 lead with 5:15 left in the period.

MIT answered with layups from Michelle Battipaglia and Drammis to cut the lead to two points, then the squads traded buckets in the closing minutes of the half, as Wellesley went to the locker room with a 24-23 advantage.

Wellesley opened the second period with an 11-5 run, highlighted by a Leong trey, for a 35-28 lead. The Blue kept the pressure on, with solid offensive rebounding and free throw shooting, as the hosts pushed the lead to 40-28 with 11:35 remaining.

MIT's Bhandare answered with a trey, sparking a 6-0 run for the Engineers and trimming the lead to 40-34 lead with just under nine minutes left on the clock. Two minutes later, a pair of free throws from Bhandare cut the lead to four.

Wellesley's Natalie Anderson ended the MIT charge with a three-pointer that shifted the momentum. Scott followed with a layup, opening the lead to 45-36 with 6:05 remaining. After the squads traded baskets, a driving layup from Leong extended the Wellesley lead to 49-38. Leong followed with a three-pointer on the next possession, putting the game out of reach and allowing Wellesley to cruise to a the 54-42 win.

Both teams return to NEWMAC action on January 7th at 7pm, when MIT hosts Smith and Wellesley hosts Springfield.