Blue Basketball Locks Down Mount Holyoke In Lopsided 79-18 Win

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College basketball racked-up 25 steals and opened the game on a 31-0 run in a lopsided 79-18 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday at Mildred Howard Gym.

Wellesley has now won three of the team's last four games to improve to 7-12 overall and 4-8 in conference. The Lyons are winless (0-20, 0-12 NEWMAC) on the season. The teams will meet again later this month, January 17, at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Wellesley finished the game shooting 51.4% from the field (37-of-72), scoring 44 points off of MHC turnovers and 62 points in the paint. Wellesley's defensive effort was also one of the top marks in program history, with the Blue limiting the Lyons to the second fewest points scored by a Wellesley opponent.

First year Lane Arkangel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) matched her season-high with 16 points, finishing as one of four Wellesley players in double figures, along with sophomore Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas), senior Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.), and first year Alyssa Cho (Hillsborough, Calif.). Aguirre scored 14 and grabbed six boards, while Jang added 11 points and seven steals. Cho dropped in 10 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Sophomore Kendall You Mak (San Francisco, Calif.) had five steals and a game-high eight of Wellesley's 24 assists.

Mount Holyoke senior Kate Rawson (Old Town, Maine) scored seven points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. First year GraceAnne Woods (Glen Cove, N.Y.) chipped in with five points and two rebounds, but the Lyons finished just 8-of-45 (17.8%) from the floor with 36 turnovers in the game.

Wellesley outscored the Lyons 27-0 in the first quarter, opening the game with an 8-0 run before the Lyons called the game's first timeout 1:44 into the first. Senior Chelsea Brown (San Jose, Calif.) followed the timeout with a layup as the 30-second break did little to slow the Blue. Brown finished the first quarter with six points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3, while the Blue forced 11 turnovers and totaled nine steals. Brown ended the game with eight points.

The Blue added the first four points of the second quarter before MHC broke the run with a free throw from Woods at 7:03 of the second. Wellesley went on to take a 42-9 lead at the half. The Blue limited Mount Holyoke to just three points in the third quarter while pouring in 19 more points to lead 61-12 heading into the fourth. The Blue took their largest lead of the game, at 79-16, when junior Laura McGeary (Tucson, Ariz.) scored with 2:57 left in fourth. McGeary finished the contest with eight points.

Both teams are back in action at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, February 7. Wellesley will host Wheaton and celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day, while Mount Holyoke travels to MIT.