Wellesley Basketball Seniors Lead Blue to Victory over Mount Holyoke

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Seniors Leslie Leong and Katie Shulenberger celebrated their final regular season home game by leading the Wellesley basketball team to a 62-44 win over Mount Holyoke on Saturday at Keohane Sports Center. Leong recorded a triple-double in the win, with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Shulenberger, meanwhile, recorded a career-high 13 points.

The Blue finish the regular season 16-8 overall, 13-7 in the NEWMAC as they prepare for the upcoming NEWMAC tournament as the fourth seed. Mount Holyoke ends the season at 6-19, 3-17 in conference play.

Leong and Shulenberger led four players in double-figures for the Blue, as junior Meghan Sargent added 12 points and first-year Ailis Hanley chipped in with 10. Hanley rounded out her stat line with seven rebounds, while junior Natalie Anderson picked up eight points in the victory.

For the Lyons, Kate Karraker led all players with 16 points, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, to go along with four assists. Genelle Green tallied nine points and seven rebounds, while Amber Legare added seven points and eight boards for the visitors.

In a first half marked by high-percentage shooting, both squads shot 50% from beyond the arc, with Wellesley knocking down five of 10 and Mount Holyoke hitting three of six. The Blue held a slight edge in assists at the break, 11 to nine, and forced 11 turnovers while only giving the ball away six times in the period.

The Lyons quickly built a 12-3 lead in the opening minutes of the game, led by two buckets from Nicole DeMarchena and two threes from Karraker. Wellesley responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by two Shulenberger treys, to cut the lead to 12-11. A minute later Leong hit a three and Shulenberger followed with a jumper to give the Blue 16-12 advantage at the 12:27 mark.

The Lyons replied with five straight, including a three from Green, to re-take the lead. After the teams traded buckets, back-to-back Hanley jumpers put the Blue on top 24-19 with 7:35 remaining in the half. A Jennine Vizcaino layup broke the string for the Lyons, but Wellesley surged forward with six more points for 30-21 lead at the 4:42 mark. After the teams swapped baskets, two Anderson threes gave the Blue a 36-25 lead at the break.

Leong had nine points, eight assists and six boards at the break, while Shulenberger and Hanley each added eight points for the Blue. Mount Holyoke's Karraker led the Lyons at the half with eight points, while Vizcaino had six.

Mount Holyoke opened the second period with three straight points, but Wellesley answered with two consecutive buckets for its largest lead to that point, 40-28, with 15:28 remaining in the game. The Lyons continued to battle, using a basket from Jocelynn Portmann and two free throws from Karraker to trim the lead to 40-32 at the 12:30 mark.

After the 10-minute mark, Wellesley heated up with two Sargent free throws and another Anderson three, opening a 48-34 gap with 8:36 left. Green halted the momentum with a layup and Karraker followed with a three to cut the lead to 48-39. But Wellesley answered with four straight to push the lead back to double digits with 6:57 remaining. Three minutes later, two Leong free throws and a put-back from Terrace Clark pushed the lead to 58-39 at the 3:45 mark as the Blue cruised to the 62-44 win.

Wellesley will be back in action at home on Wednesday, hosting #5 Babson at 7:00pm in the conference quarterfinals.

Blue Basketball Seniors Tya Logan, Katie Shulenberger, and Leslie Leong, and Families