Wellesley Basketball Falls on the Road at MIT, 44-26
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wellesley (6-12, 3-8 NEWMAC) | 6 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 26 |
|
MIT (12-7, 8-4 NEWMAC) | 19 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 44 |
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- MIT outscored Wellesley College basketball 19-6 in the first quarter and never trailed in the game to take a 44-26 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory on Wednesday night at Rockwell Cage.
MIT snaps a two-game skid to improve to 12-7 overall and 8-4 in conference play. The Blue drop to 6-12 on the season and 3-8 in the NEWMAC.
Junior Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash.) scored a game-high 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had three blocks to lead the Engineers. Classmate Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) added seven points and pulled down five boards, while first year Kylie Gallagher (Upton, Mass.) finished with a game-best seven rebounds.
Wellesley sophomore Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) finished with seven points and four steals to lead the Blue. Senior Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) chipped in with six points but overall the Blue struggled from the floor, shooting just 10-for-42 in the contest. Sophomore Kendall You Mak (San Francisco, Calif.) chipped in with four rebounds and two assists.
The Engineers shot 7-of-9 from the floor in the opening 10 minutes of the contest to build a 19-6 lead. Aguirre knocked down a pair of free throws to make the score 19-8 at 8:21 of the second but Wellesley would get no closer than the 11-point difference in the first half. MIT eventually led by as many 16 before taking a 28-14 advantage into the break.
MIT held the Blue to just two points in the third quarter, extending their lead to 35-16 heading into the fourth. MIT would go on to build their largest lead of the game, at 42-20, with 2:17 left in regulation before closing out the 44-26 victory.
The Engineers had a 35-24 advantage on the glass and finished at 40.9% (18-of-44) from the floor. MIT also outscored the Blue 20-14 in the paint but the teams finished just 3-for-19 a combined from beyond the arc.
Wellesley will travel to take on Seven Sisters rival Mount Holyoke in NEWMAC play on Saturday, February 3, at 1:00 PM. MIT will also play on the road Saturday when they take on WPI at 3:00 PM.