43-36 victory over Mt. Holyoke
Women’s Basketball team improves to 6-3 on the year
Nine unanswered points during a span of seven minutes helped propel MIT to a 43-36 victory over Mount Holyoke College in a NEWMAC women’s basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Alexxis R. Isaac tallied 10 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists as the Engineers improved to 6-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference play.
MIT quickly established a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes, courtesy of six points from Rachel A. Hunt ’14, before going up, 13-4, on a three-pointer from sophomore Tamara R. Pena ’14. Mount Holyoke responded with a 12-2 run to capture its first lead of the day with 7:27 on the clock. On the Engineers’ ensuing possession, Isaac put the Engineers back in front but Legare converted the first of her two free throws to even the score at 17.
A trey by sophomore Sharon S. Hao ended the deadlock as a basket from Anna L. Merrifield ’13 increased MIT’s edge to 22-17 with 2:49 to go. Layups from Merrifield and Pascual maintained the two-point margin as the Engineers entered halftime with a 24-22 lead.
A layup from Hunt in the opening moments of the second stanza gave the hosts some breathing room, but a layup and 3-pointer from Pascual briefly returned the advantage to Mount Holyoke. Pena followed with a trifecta which put MIT ahead for good as junior Lauren S. Burton added another basket from behind the arc while an Isaac jumper resulted in a seven-point margin (34-27).
In a span of 11 seconds, Angelica Pascual and junior Stephanie Pascual (Lawrence, Mass.) converted layups, trimming Mount Holyoke’s deficit to three (34-31) at the 13:58 mark. The Engineers replied with their pivotal nine-point run with freshman Mari Kordell’s 3-pointer ending four minutes of scoreless play and creating a 43-31 cushion with 6:14 remaining in regulation.
Pena totaled 10 points, seven rebounds, a steal, and a block while Hunt posted eight points, six boards, two assists, and a block for MIT. Hao chipped in five rebounds and two assists as Burton grabbed two steals.
Legare notched nine points and five rebounds while Barrett finished with seven points and seven boards. Both squads will host nonconference foes in their upcoming games. MIT will return to action on Friday, Dec. 30 against Simmons College.