CHESTNUT HILL, MA - Senior Joy Holliday (Milford, MA/Milford) and sophomore Keneisha Milton (Boston, MA/Wayland) each recorded double-doubles, and the Wheelock College women's basketball team held with Albertus Magnus College until late before the Falcons pulled away for a 66-53 victory on Saturday at Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court. The Wildcats slipped to 0-2 during their home opener, while the visitors improved to 2-1.
Holliday notched her first career double-double behind a career-best 11 rebounds, and she came within three of her high point total with 15. Milton recorded 11 points, 10 boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Senior Sharrell Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Progress) canned a trio of three-pointers en route to 12 points, and junior Kayla Drescher (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) added nine points and six rebounds, as Wheelock held a 39-37 edge on the glass.
Senior Bianca Brown (West Haven, CT/Career) totaled 20 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and three blocks for Albertus Magnus while shooting 8-for-12 from the floor. Freshman Lianna Carrero (Hamden, CT/Hamden) had 13 points and five assists, while classmate Annie Raucci (Milford, CT/Foran) shot 4-for-5 off the bench for 11 points. The Falcons were lifted by a 5-for-11 showing from beyond the arc.
Sharrell Brown nailed a three 45 seconds into the second stanza to erase the visitors' one-point halftime edge, sparking a 10-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 37-28 advantage at 16:06. Holliday and Milton combined on the other seven points of the run. The Falcons countered with a 13-2 stretch, as sophomore Shanilya Bush's (New Haven, CT/Wilbur Cross) long-range shot put her team in front, 41-39, at 12:15. A jumper by Holliday 21 seconds later knotted the contest, but Carrero's three at 11:06 gave her squad the lead for good.
Wheelock trailed by no more than six points until the final five minutes, as a Milton lay-up off a dish from Sharrell Brown kept the hosts within 54-50 at 6:14, but a 10-1 spurt by the visitors during a 2:30 stretch put them in control. Six of the points came on free throws.
The teams played through six ties and four lead changes during the opening period. Milton's bucket at 17:22 gave the Wildcats their first lead, 8-6, before neither team scored again until Raucci knocked down a freebie at 12:31. A jumper by Bianca Brown put her team on top 30 seconds later, and Wheelock eventually trailed by a 12-9 count.
However, five players scored during an ensuing 11-2 run, as sophomore Sarah McCaffrey's (East Taunton, MA/Taunton) jumper at 6:53 broke a tie. Two McCaffrey free throws at 3:58 made it 24-17, but the Falcons retook the lead before the end of the half, using an 11-2 run of their own to pull back ahead. Albertus Magnus held a 28-27 edge at intermission.
Wheelock is back in action on Monday, when it plays the home team against Simmons College at Simmons' Holmes Sports Center at 6 p.m.