Aguirre Leads Blue Basketball Past Wentworth in Home Opener, 66-51

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Senior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) matched her career-high with 23 points to lead Wellesley College basketball to a 66-51 non-conference victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

Wellesley is now 3-0 to start the season for the second consecutive year, while Wentworth (3-1 overall) drops its first game of the season after opening the year 3-0. 

Aguirre finished 8-of-16 from the floor in 36 minutes of action, shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc with five rebounds and three assists. The Blue had a commanding 55-34 lead on the glass in the game, where first year Pujita Shukla (Austin, Texas) pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and senior Emily Kopp (King Ferry, N.Y.) secured 12 boards. Shukla and Kopp each finished the game with nine points. First year Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) had four of Wellesley's 11 steals. 

Junior Lyric Campbell (Madisonville, Ky.) scored 15 points off the bench to lead the visitors, shooting 5-of-10 from the field. Junior guard Kayla Kelley (Boston, Mass.) added 10 points and a pair of assists, while classmate Erin Morton (Norway, Maine ) finished with five rebounds and nine points on just 2-of-12 shooting from the floor. Winnie Kenou (Mattapan, Mass.) had a team-high six rebounds for Wentworth. 

The Blue grabbed an 18-14 lead at the end of a back-and-forth opening quarter. A jumper from Aguirre at 8:12 of the second increased the Wellesley advantage to six, but back-to-back Wentworth triples from Maya Spence (Georgetown, Mass.) and Kelley knotted the game at 20-20 with 6:43 left before the half. Wellesley would go on to outscore the Leopards 9-4 over the final 5:51 of the second quarter, as a layup from Shukla at 44 seconds sent Wellesley into the break with a 29-24 advantage. 

Wentworth trimmed Wellesley's advantage to two at the start of the fourth quarter, outscoring the Blue, 17-10 in the third. Campbell dropped in eight of her 15 in the third quarter, including the final bucket in the frame with 22 seconds on the clock. Aguirre extended the Wellesley lead back to five with a triple to start the fourth, setting the tone as the Blue seized control of the game and outscored Wentworth, 23-10, over the final ten minutes. Aguirre scored eight points in the final ten minutes, while Kopp added six and seven boards. 

Wellesley finished the game 23-66 (34.8%) from the field and 4-11 (36.4%) from the three point line. The Blue went 16-22 (72.7%) from the free throw line while the Leopards went 16-56 (28.6%). Wentworth finished 16-56 (28.6%) from the field while both teams committed 19 turnovers a piece. The Blue came away with an 11-9 edge in steals for the game.

Wellesley will face Emerson at the Wesleyan Invitational on Friday, November 22, at 8:00PM and Wentworth will host UNE on Saturday, November 23, at 12:00PM.