CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Freshmen Shannon Garvey (Clarksburg, MA) (30) and Michelle Woods (Wilmington, MA) (28) combined to score 58 points to lead the Wheelock College women's basketball team to an 81-78 victory over visiting Becker College in double overtime this evening in a New England Collegiate Conference contest at Brunelli Court on the campus of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, MA. The Wildcats improve to 2-12 overall and 1-7 in NECC play, while the Hawks fall to 5-9 and 5-3. The win is the first for Wheelock over Becker since a 69-44 victory on February 3, 2003 in Boston.
Sophomore guard Katie Alsip (Quincy, MA) was fouled with just 0.4 seconds left to play in the second half and made the first free throw to pull Wheelock to within 63-61. Her second free throw failed to draw iron, resulting in a violation, thus giving the ball to Becker under the basket. The Hawks turned the ball over without any time coming off the clock when the inbounding player stepped over the line, prior to passing the ball, resulting in a Wheelock possession with still just four tenths of a second showing on the clock. Freshman guardAmber Tudor (Bronx, NY) inbounded the ball to Garvey, who made the catch and immediately canned a four-foot jump shot for the Wildcats before time expired to send the contest to overtime with a 63-63 tie.
The teams traded the lead four times in the first overtime with Woods completing a three-point play with a free throw to give Wheelock a 70-68 margin with 1:26 to go in the extra period. Junior forward Karena Prescott (New Bedford, MA) later answered when she converted a layup after pulling down the offensive board to pull Becker even at 70-70 with 41 seconds left. Neither team was able to score in the final seconds as the contest entered a second overtime.
Freshman guard Elizabeth McNiff (Leominster, MA) made a layup at the 2:43 mark of the second OT to give the Hawks a 74-73 edge, but Woods canned a pair of free throws just 23 seconds later to give the Wildcats the lead for good at 75-74. Wheelock maintained a 78-76 lead with 65 seconds remaining, before Woods made one of two free throws to give the home team a 79-76 margin with 41 seconds to go. Senior forward Melissa Rhodes (Mendon, MA) cut the deficit to one for Becker with a layup with 25 ticks left in the game, before Garvey came up with a pair of offensive rebounds and a layup with just five seconds to play in the game to give the Wildcats an 81-78 lead. Senior guard Haley Ooms' (Valatie, NY) three-point field goal attempt was off the mark in the final seconds for the Hawks and Wheelock came away with the win.
The teams traded the lead five times in the opening half and each team's largest lead by five points in the period, before entering the break tied at 27-27.
The Wildcats later took a 41-40 edge, following a Garvey layup with 13:43 showing on the second half clock, but Becker put together a 13-4 stretch to take its biggest advantage of the night at 53-45 with 9:38 remaining in the half. Wheelock responded with 12 unanswered points, capped by a three-pointer from senior guard Jessica Ramsey (Milford, MA) to give the Wildcats a 57-53 lead with five minutes left in the period. The Hawks regrouped and reeled off eight straight points, including a trifecta from Ooms to give the visitors a 61-57 lead at the 1:56 mark before Wheelock sent the contest to overtime.
Garvey played all 50 minutes and was 13-23 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from the line to give her 30 points to go with a career-high 13 rebounds and added three steals and a pair of blocks for the Wildcats. Woods was 10-19 from the field and 8-11 from the free throw line for 28 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out an assist, blocking a shot and coming up with a steal. Tudor finished with a school-record 10 assists in addition to three points and four rebounds, while freshman guard Jaime Grzych (Columbia, CT) contributed with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a blocked shot.
Junior guard Brooke Martel (Griswold, CT) was one of five players to score double digits for Becker with a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards to go with two assists, two steals and a block. Ooms ended with 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block, while senior forward Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, MA) posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 caroms in addition to a game-high four steals and an assist. McNiff chipped in with 14 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals.
The Wildcats return to the hard court on Saturday, January 18 when they travel to Longmeadow, MA to take on NECC foe Bay Path College for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Hawks host Regis College on the same day at 1:00 p.m.