WORCESTER -- Despite an 11-point, four rebound effort from Adrianna Niles (Tewksbury, MA) the WPI women's basketball team fell 50-39 to Husson on Saturday afternoon.
The Engineers are now 7-6 on the season while Husson improves to 5-7 in 2023-24.
In addition to Niles' double-digit effort, Sofia Santorelli (Harrison, NY) and Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) added eight point efforts. Santorelli finished with a pair of treys while Allyn added three boards and three helpers in the outing.
Husson was led by a 13-point, four rebound effort from Sophia McVicar (Calais, ME) while Hannah Richards (Bradley, ME) added 12 points, three assists and a pair of steals. Bailey Donovan (Island Falls, ME) added nine points, with the majority of her point total coming from the free throw line as she was 7-for-8 on the day.
Following a close first quarter that saw a 6-5 lead by the Engineers thanks to a pair of free throws from Niles, a jumper from Ally McMorrow (Quincy, MA) and a fastbreak layup from Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT), WPI raced out on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter capped by a trey from Santorelli to take a 13-5 lead. Husson hit their first points in nine minutes at the 3:34 mark of the second quarter kickstarting the offense on both sides as WPI headed into halftime with a 17-11 advantage.
In the second half, however, it was a different story. Despite a pair of baskets from the Engineers to start the half, Husson responded with back-to-back threes from Sofia Torres-Reyes (Ventura, CA) to cut the WPI lead to just four.
Another three, this time from Richards followed by a jumper from Makaelyn Porter (Smyrna Mills, ME) gave the Eagles their first lead, 22-21, since the 5:51 mark of the first quarter. The lead extended to 14-0 following a fastbreak three from McVicar to make it a 25-21 game before WPI responded with back-to-back jumpers from Niles and Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) to even things at 25-all and provide a fresh ballgame with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.
A Richards and-one and Lauren Cook (Charlotte, ME) jumper gave Husson a 30-25 advantage with half a minute remaining in the period but Niles connected on a three with seconds left in the quarter to head into the final stanza behind just 30-28.
But the Eagles took control of the fourth quarter, beginning things with a 7-0 run, before WPI was able to get things back within three following a McMorrow layup at the 4:11 mark. But another 6-0 run by the Eagles put things out of reach down the stretch and Husson hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Husson shot just 14.3 percent from the field in the first half, but turned it on in the second half with a 64.7 percent effort to finish with a 36.8 field goal pct on the day. WPI was just 30.4 from the field in the outing. The Eagles also drained five treys, the majority coming in the second half, while WPI connected on three. Husson made 21 trips to the charity stripe in the outing (17-of-21) while the Engineers had just two.
The Engineers are back in action on Monday, Jan. 8 at 7pm when they host Bridgewater State at Harrington Auditorium looking for their first victory of 2024. Husson will return to the court on Monday, Jan. 8 but at 7:30 pm with an NAC conference game against Maine Farmington.