Blue Basketball Falls to Fisher in Non-Conference Play, 44-41

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- First year Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) dropped in 11 points and grabbed six rebounds but Wellesley College basketball dropped a non-conference decision to visiting Fisher College, 44-41, on Wednesday evening at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

The setback snaps Wellesley's seven-game home court winning streak, dropping the Blue to 13-6 overall. Fisher, who has won nine of the team's last ten games, improves to 16-12 overall. 

Junior Alyssa Cho (Hillsborough, Calif.) and first year Pujita Shukla (Austin, Texas) each tallied nine points for the Blue. Cho added a team-high seven boards for the Blue. First year Taylor Hirn (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) tallied a team-high four assists and pulled down four rebounds. 

Sophomore Misha O'Neal (Tampa, Fla.) and senior Jenny-Lynn Eggers (Sonoma, Calif.) each finished with a double-double to lead the Falcons. O'Neal totaled a game-high 12 points and 11 rebounds. Eggers finished with 11 points and 11 boards. Senior Vivian Lara (Norwalk, Calif.) added five points, six rebounds, and four assists off the bench.

Wellesley struggled to find a rhythm on offense throughout a low-scoring first half but still had a one-point edge at halftime. Trailing 5-4 at the midway point of the first quarter, the Falcons used a 7-0 run to take a 10-5 lead in the final seconds. However, Wellesley senior Emily Kopp (King Ferry, N.Y.) dropped in a layup at the buzzer to make the score 10-8 after one. The Blue held Fisher to just five points in the second quarter taking a one-point lead into the break when Chae hit a jumper with 1:08 left in the first. 

Fisher broke free late in a back-and-forth third quarter to take a 29-28 lead into the fourth. With the score tied at 25-all after Cho hit the first of two free throws at 1:23, back-to-back buckets from Eggers and Angel Bernardi (Cloverdale, Calif.) at 1:07 and 35 seconds put the Falcons up 29-25. A three from senior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) pulled the Blue within one at the end of the frame. 

Fisher would extend the lead to as many as eight points in the fourth quarter, taking a 44-36 lead when Eggers knocked down a three at 3:13. The Blue pushed back over the final three minutes of play, with Chae hitting jumpers on back-to-back possessions at 2:51 and 2:15 to cut the lead to four, 44-40. A free throw from Shukla at 44 seconds trimmed the lead to one, 44-41. Wellesley got two attempts from three in the final seconds, but Chae and Aguirre couldn't find the target as Fisher held on. 

Wellesley finished the game shooting 24.6% (15-of-61) from the field and 3-for-15 (20.0%) from deep. Fisher countered at 35.4% (17-of-48), hitting 4-of-13 attempts from three. The Falcons had a 48-34 rebonding advantage. 

Wellesley will host Emerson for Senior Day in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match-up on Saturday, February 15, at 1:00 PM. Fisher will close out the regular-season on Saturday at 1:00 PM at Colby-Sawyer.