SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Nov. 20, 2010) – Using a balanced scoring attack, the Agnes Scott women's basketball team held on for a 62-60 triumph over host Mount Holyoke College today in the opening game of the 2010 Seven Sisters Classic.
Trailing by 17 points in the early stages of the second half, the Lyons staged a furious comeback to knot things up at 60-60 with just under two minutes to go. Sophomore guard Arielle Register then clinched things for the Scotties with a pair of free throws in the waning seconds.
First year Lexi Pulice-Farrow paced the guests with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. The guard knocked down half of her team's six three pointers and also added four steals and three assists. Register finished with 11 points, while sophomore guard Genefine Sapateh chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds. As a team, Agnes Scott connected on 37.9% (22-58) of its shots from the field and 85.7% (12-14) of its free throw attempts.
Mount Holyoke was paced by sophomore guard Angelica Pascual, who exploded for a program record 37 points. The previous high of 32 was established by Elise Cromack against Trinity College during the 1984-85 season. Cromack matched her own mark two years later against Nichols College, and Sandra Thrall tied the record versus MIT during the 1988-89 campaign. Pascual went 13-of-23 from the floor and knocked down a program record seven three-pointers. She was perfect in four chances at the charity stripe and pulled down eight rebounds.
The Lyons also received solid production from junior forward Tricia Chase, who posted nine points and nine boards. Classmate Christine Chancy added eight points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while forward Bree Hollinger collected a squad best 10 rebounds. Mount Holyoke pulled down 20 offensive rebounds en route to a 50-31 advantage on the glass.
Pulice-Farrow converted a pair of conventional three-point plays to put Agnes Scott in front 12-2 just over six minutes into the contest. The Scotties pushed their cushion to 30-14 following a trey by Register at the 6:14 mark and took a 34-22 edge into the locker room. Pulice-Farrow led all scorers with 12 points at the break. Pascual had 10 for the hosts.
Agnes Scott opened the second stanza on a 7-2 run to extend its lead to 41-24 at the 17:09 mark. Pulice-Farrow capped off the spurt with her third three-pointer of the day.
Refusing to go away, Mount Holyoke clawed its way back into the game with a 13-2 run over the next six minutes. A layup by Chase trimmed the margin to 43-37 midway through the half. Pascual erupted for 11 points over the span, draining three shots from beyond the arc and a layup.
The Lyons trailed 60-54 following a pair of free throws by first year guard Tiffany Jones with 3:04 to go before scoring the next six points to level the score at 60-60 with 1:43 remaining. Pascual got the run started with a short jumper and closed it out with a three-point play.
Both sides went scoreless until Register drained a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left. Mount Holyoke had a chance to tie things in the final seconds, but a layup attempt by Chase rimmed out.
Pascual netted 27 of her 37 points after the break, making six three-pointers in the process.
The Lyons (0-2, 0-0 NEWMAC) will close out the tournament tomorrow against Vassar College at 2:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Agnes Scott (2-0, 0-0 GSAC) will face off against Wellesley College at 11:00 a.m.