CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Wheelock College outscored Lesley University 35-21 in the second half and rolled to a 68-43 victory in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The win lifts the Wildcats to 6-17 on the season and 5-11 in conference play while the Lynx fall to 2-21 and 2-14 in the league.
Wheelock saw three players finish in double-figures, led by freshman Emily Doyle (Lynn, Mass.) who tallied a game-high 18 points. Classmate Michelle Woods (Wilmington, Mass.) and sophomore Shannon Garvey (Clarksburg, Mass.) finished with 12 and 17 points, respectively, while each grabbing eight rebounds. Sophomore Kelsey Becker (Hanover, Mass.) came off the bench for six points and six boards and Katie Alsip (Quincy, Mass.) collected a game-high 11 caroms.
Leading the way for the Lynx was sophomore Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) who finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with her eight rebounds while junior Grace Amato (South Royalton, Vt.) chipped in with 12 points and seven boards. Senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass, and finished with six points. Senior guard Emily Fleming (Medford, Mass.) led all players with six assists on the night.
The Lynx held an early 4-2 lead before the visitors went on a quick 9-0 run kick-started by a Doyle triple to regain the lead, 11-4. The Wildcats would not trail again in the game. A Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong) jumper would cut the Wheelock lead to nine with 5:53 to go in the half, but the Wildcats quickly pushed the deficit back to double-digits with a 9-4 spurt, before heading into the locker room with a 33-22 advantage.
Holding a 43-26 lead with 15:30 to go, Dimou would knock down back-to-back treys to trim the visitors edge to 11 points, but Wheelock squashed the Lesley momentum once again, scoring seven of the next 10 points to extend their advantage to 50-35.
The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas, holding the Lynx to just one field goal in the final 5:30 and ending the game on a 16-5 run on their way to the 68-43 victory.
Garvey accounted for much of the Wildcats offense in the second stanza, scoring 15 of her 17 points in the final twenty minutes, while shooting an efficient 8-of-12 from the field.
Wheelock knocked down 35-percent (23-of-65) of their shots on the night while limiting Lesley to just 25-percent (16-of-66) from the floor while the visitors also held a 53-46 edge on the glass.
The Lynx return to action on Friday, February 14th when they celebrate Senior Night against Becker College at 8:00p at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The Wildcats will play host to Regis College on Saturday, February 15th at 3:00p at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill.