MIT Runs Past Wellesley Basketball for 68-39 NEWMAC Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wellesley (6-8, 3-5 NEWMAC) | 7 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 39 |
|
MIT (12-4, 6-2 NEWMAC) | 19 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 68 |
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- MIT opened the game on a 14-2 run and never trailed in the contest, defeating Wellesley College basketball, 68-39, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday night at Rockwell Cage.
MIT has now won nine of their last ten contests to improve to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in NEWMAC play. The Blue have dropped three straight to fall to 3-5 in the NEWMAC and 6-8 overall.
Seniors Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) and Dolly Yuan (San Jose, Calif.) combined for 24 points to lead the Engineers, with each scoring 12. Holinski also recorded a game-high five assists, while Yuan grabbed five rebounds. Classmate Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash.) added 10 points, five boards and a pair of steals. Sophomore Jocelyn Luizzi (Colchester, Conn.) finished with a game-high seven rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.
Junior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in 38 minutes to lead the Blue. Classmate Kendall You Mak (San Francisco, Calif.) added eight points, with even coming in the first half. First year Caitrin Spottiswoode (Storrs, Conn.) finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and added three rebounds in 20 minutes off the Blue bench.
Luizzi capped the 14-2 MIT run to open the game with a jumper at 3:59 of the first. The Engineers would hold the 12-point edge through the end of the quarter, carrying a 19-7 lead into the second. You Mak trimmed the Wellesley deficit to 11 with a triple at 6:04 of the second, but MIT would counter with an 11-2 run to take a 20-point (38-18) lead into the half.
MIT would lead by as many as 32 points in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. The Engineers outscored the Blue, 16-12, in the third quarter and 14-9 over the final ten minutes of play to earn the 68-39 final.
MIT finished the game shooting 51.9% (27-of-52) from the floor and 40.7% (11-of-27) from beyond the arc. Wellesley shot 16-of-46 (34.8%) while hitting 4-of-7 (57.1%) attempts from distance. MIT had a 36-21 advantage on the glass.
Both teams will be in action at 1:00 PM on Saturday. Wellesley returns home to host WPI and MIT will travel to Clark.