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Basketball Tops Mitchell, 43-33, to Take Third at Wesleyan Tournament

Emily Kopp was the Blue leader in rebounds with seven. (Photo by Frank Poulin)
Emily Kopp was the Blue leader in rebounds with seven. (Photo by Frank Poulin)

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- Wellesley College basketball downed Mitchell College, 43-33, on Saturday afternoon to take third place in the Courtyard Tournament at Wesleyan University's Silloway Gymnasium. 

First year Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) had a team-high 11 points to lead the Blue (4-1 overall), finishing 5-10 from the floor with four rebounds and two steals to earn All-Tournament honors. First year Pujita Shukla (Austin, Texas) chipped in nine points for the Blue, finishing 4-13 from the floor and 1-1 from the line with two rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Senior Emily Kopp (King Ferry, N.Y.) led the Blue in rebounds with seven total, while adding two assists and finishing 2-4 from the floor. 

Sophomore Amina Wiley (New Rochelle, N.Y.) dropped 12 points, going 5-12 from the floor and 2-4 from the line, while also racking up 17 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks to lead the Mariners (1-3 overall). Sophomore Le'Sandra Turner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) added in seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block with four total points. 

The Blue went into the break trailing 17-23, following a tight opening half. Wellesley ended the first with an 11-10 lead. The Blue extending their lead to 13-10 at the start of the second on a jumper from Chae, but the Mariners used a 13-4 run to take a five-point lead to the break, 23-17.

Wellesley cut the deficit to one at 6:34 in the third with a layup from Kopp to make the score 24-25. Senior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) knocked down a jumper to give the Blue the lead, 26-25, at 5:48 as Wellesley rallied all the way back after trailing by as many as eight points in the first half. Wellesley held onto the lead to close out the quarter, outscoring Mitchell 8-5 over the final five minutes to take a 34-30 lead heading to the fourth. 

The Blue opened the fourth with back-to-back buckets to extend its advantage to 38-30. Wellesley would take its largest lead at the end of the game, when a jumper from Chae put the Blue up 10, 43-33, with 27 seconds left on the clock. Wellesley finished 17-55 (30.9%) from the floor and 8-13 (61.5%) from the line with 21 total turnovers. The Mariners went 7-20 (35%) from the line and 13-45 (28.9%) from the floor with 35 turnovers on the game.

Next-up, Wellesley travels to Worcester State on Monday, December 2, at 7:00 PM. Mitchell will host St. Joseph (Conn.) on Tuesday, November 26, at 4:00PM.