For Immediate Release
November 21, 2009
Wellesley Sports Information
Wellesley Basketball Downs Albertus Magnus
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley Basketball used a strong first-half performance, highlighted by an 18-1 run, to defeat Albertus Magnus, 58-35, this afternoon at Keohane Sports Center. The Falcons drop to 1-3. The win, the first under new head coach Jen Kroll, lifts Wellesley to 1-2.
Wellesley opened the game with six straight points, capped off with a steal by Katie Martore (Great Falls, Va.), who fed Becca Kimball (Weston, Mass.) for the layup. After a freethrow from the Falcons' Krystal Bryant (New Haven, Conn.), the Blue stretched the lead to 10-1 with buckets from Kimball and Malia Maier (Torrance, Calif.). Back-to-back three-pointers from Robyn Burleson (Seattle, Wash.) and Laura Barrett (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) pushed the lead to 16-1 at the 12:30 mark, and a six-footer from KD Stearns (Eustis, Fla.) sealed the 18-1 run.
Bryant broke an eight-minute drought for Albertus Magnus, draining two freethrows at the 9:49 mark. Consecutive baskets from the Falcons' Nikki McClease (New Haven, Conn.) and Shay Anderson (Hamden, Conn.) trimmed the lead to 19-7. Wellesley responded with two freethrows from Ashleigh Sargent (Bedford, N.H.) and a steal and layup from Kimball to push the lead back to 23-9 with 4:35 remaining in the period. Martore added two more from the charity stripe, then two more steals led to two more layups for Kimball and a 29-9 Wellesley lead with 3:10 left.
The Falcons answered by scoring five of the next seven points, with three freethrows from Chantel Davis (New Haven, Conn.) and a two-pointer from Bryant to trim the lead to 31-14. But a freethrow from Judine St. Gerard (Milton, Mass.) and a layup from Stearns in the closing seconds gave the Blue a 34-14 halftime lead.
The Falcons opened the second period with a 6-2 spurt, but Wellesley answered with five straight, including a trey from St. Gerard, for a 41-20 lead at the 16:00-minute mark. A conventional three-point play from Maier stretched the Wellesley lead to 24 points with 14:30 left.
Davis got the Falcons going again with a 10-footer, but Wellesley quickly broke the Falcons' full-court press, giving Burleson an uncontested layup for a 47-22 lead. The squads held each other scoreless for seven minutes, until Maier sank a breakaway layup and subsequent freethrow for the Blue, pushing the lead to 28. The Falcons answered with 7-1 run, including two points from Anderson and bucket and freethrow from McClease to trim the lead to 51-29 at the 4:20 mark. But the Falcons could get no closer as Wellesley cruised to the 58-35 win.
McClease led Albertus Magnus with 11 points and six rebounds. Davis and Liz Williams (West Haven, Conn.) added five points each, while Bryant added four points and nine rebounds.
Kimball led the Blue with 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven steals. Maier tallied eight points and six steals, while Stearns and Sargent chipped in seven and six points, respectively. Martore, who dished out eight assists in just 28 minutes of work, led the Blue with eight rebounds and snagged five steals in the win.
The Falcons return to action on Tuesday, November 24, when they travel to Curry College for 6:00pm matchup. The Blue take the court on Tuesday at 7:00pm, when they host Brandeis University.