For Immediate Release
January 6, 2010
Wellesley Sports Information
Wellesley Basketball Falls to Smith College in 2010 Opener
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The visiting Smith College basketball team held Wellesley College scoreless for over nine minutes in the second half, as the Pioneers posted a 55-42 win in Wednesday evening New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action. Smith evens its conference mark to 2-2, 5-4 overall, while the Blue fall to 1-4 in NEWMAC play, 3-7 overall.
The home team jumped out to an early five-point advantage off of a three from Katie Martore (Great Falls, VA) and a lay-up from Robyn Burleson (Seattle, WA) in the first minute of play. Smith got on the board at 16:41, as a bucket from Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NJ) sparked a 13-0 run from the Pioneers. Wellesley then chipped away at the eight-point Smith lead with back-to-back lay-ups from Judine St. Gerard (Milton, MA) and later knotted the game at 13-all with two from Malia Maier (Torrance, CA) with 7:31 left in the first half.
The rest of the period was a back-and-forth affair, featuring four ties and three lead changes. Neither team could manage more than a three-point lead as the Blue and the Pioneers went into the locker room tied at 22-22.
Wellesley held a slim advantage early in the second half, with Becca Kimball's (Weston, MA) conventional three-point play giving the Blue a five-point lead at 14:19. A jumper from Smith's Megan Kiefer (Oak Park, IL) then keyed an 11-0 run from Smith, who turned a five-point deficit into a six-point advantage with five minutes remaining in the game. The Pioneer's benefited from four points from Devon Quattrocchi (Brewster, NY) during the game-changing run, while also holding Wellesley without a field goal for over nine minutes.
The Blue broke their drought with a Maier lay-up at 4:56 that cut the Smith lead to four points, but a back-breaking three from Elizabeth BelBruno (Hanover, NH) and solid free-throw shooting from the visitors doomed Wellesley who dropped their 2010 opener.
For Smith, Vuono recorded a double-double with game-highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds while also picking up five steals. Quattrocchi posted 11 points and five steals while BelBruno and Berit Schelde (Holstebro, Denmark) each notched eight points and three assists.
Wellesley was led by Burleson who picked up nine points, while Kimball recorded eight points and five rebounds. Martore and Maier posted identical lines with five points, three steals and three assists each. KD Stearns (Eustis, FL) and Ashleigh Sargent (Bedford, NH) each added five boards, with Sargent also picking up two blocks.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, January 9th, as Wellesley travels to Springfield for a 1pm game and Smith travels to MIT for a 2pm contest.