WPI Uses Late Run to Down Blue Hoops, 47-34

WORCESTER, Mass. -- WPI outscored Wellesley College basketball 15-3 in the fourth quarter to take a 47-34 victory in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday night at Harrington Auditorium.

The Engineers, now winners of four-straight home contests, improve to 6-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Wellesley drops to 1-6 overall following the team's second conference setback of the year.

Wellesley junior Ailis Hanley (Cranston, R.I.) recorded a team-high 11 points, while senior Chelsi Scott (Portland, Mich.) led all players with 10 rebounds in the contest. Scott also added six points and a team-high four steals. Sophomore Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) chipped in with eight points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Blue. First year Zojajha Ayub (Belle Mead, N.J.) also added seven points off the bench.

WPI sophomore Ama Biney (Worcester, Mass.) scored a game-high 14 points, adding four rebounds, three assists and five steals to help pace the Engineers on both ends of the floor. Senior Lisa Mendez (Yonkers, N.Y.) also finished in double-figures with 13 points, including nine in the game's final ten minutes. Junior Priscilla Dunphy (Barrington, R.I.) and senior Yasmeen Luna (North Providence, R.I.) each added six points, while Dunphy also collected a game-high eight of the Engineers' 15 steals in the contest.

A pair of triples from Jang and a layup from sophomore Anna Cahill (New London, N.H.) helped the Blue erase a 7-0 deficit at the onset, as Wellesley took an 8-7 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first. Ayub then added a jumper at 3:34 to push Wellesley to a 10-7 advantage, before WPI closed out the quarter with back-to-back buckets to take an 11-10 edge on a jumper from Mendez.

Biney opened the second quarter with a basket to lift WPI to a 13-10 edge, before Hanley hit the first of her game-high three three-pointers to tie the score at 13-all at 9:01. Hanley's hoop spurred an 8-0 run that helped the Blue to an 18-13 lead with just over five minutes to play before the half. However, WPI countered with six-consecutive points to carry a one-point edge, 19-18, into the break.

Little separated the sides in the third quarter, as the teams tied for the second period in-a-row. Jang opened the frame with a layup, giving the Blue a 20-19 lead, but WPI would retake the lead, 21-20, under a minute later on a jumper by Luna. The teams continued to go back-and-forth, as Wellesley would retake the lead four times before the end of the quarter. The Blue's final advantage would come with 30 seconds left in the period when a layup from Hanley put Wellesley up, 31-30. However, Mendez closed the quarter with a layup to restore the Engineers one-point edge, 32-31.

Mendez went on to score nine more points in the fourth quarter, as WPI scored 15 of the 18 points in the frame to break open the contest. Hanley knocked down a three-pointer at 6:12 to pull Wellesley to within four, at 38-34, but the Engineers netted the final nine points of the quarter to close out the 47-35 victory.

Both teams continue conference play on Saturday. Wellesley will return home to Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse for a 2:00 PM contest with Mount Holyoke, while WPI will travel to MIT for a 3:00 PM tip-off.