WORCESTER, Mass. (Dec. 9, 2010) – Trailing by 14 points at the half, the Mount Holyoke College women's basketball team staged a dramatic comeback down the stretch to pull out a thrilling 60-57 triumph over Clark University this evening at the Kneller Athletic Center. It was the Lyons' first NEWMAC win of the 2010-11 campaign.
Junior guard Christine Chancy exploded for 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor after the break. She drained a pair of three-pointers and also dished out three assists in just 15 minutes played. Mount Holyoke also received a boost from sophomore guard Jasmine Brown, who came off the bench to record a career best 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
As a team, the Lyons converted 40.4% (23-57) of their shots from the field and drained six three-pointers. Five of those came in the second half. They piled up 17 offensive rebounds en route to a 49-34 edge on the glass. Junior forward Tricia Chase matched her career high with 15 boards while also chipping in with seven points. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Angelica Pascual added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Clark (2-6, 1-3 NEWMAC) was paced by first year forward Megan Grondin, who came off the bench to post a game high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Fellow reserve Kate Minister added 13 points for the Cougars, who were limited to just 36.5% (23-63) shooting from the field.
The hosts gained control of the contest with 13 straight points over a span of seven minutes in the early going. Grondin capped off the run with a conventional three-point play, which put her team in front 17-5 at the 10:37 mark. The Cougars then extended their cushion to 36-22 on a jumper by sophomore forward Kelsey Giedymin in the waning seconds of the opening frame. Grondin led all scorers with 11 points at the break.
Mount Holyoke erupted out of the gate in the second half, outscoring Clark 11-2 over the first 3:28. Chancy sliced the deficit to 38-33 with a jumper at the 16:32 mark.
The Lyons then scored eight straight points over a span of 2:35 to grab the lead for good. Chancy gave the guests a 50-49 advantage with a layup at the 4:34 mark. Two minutes later, she drained a three-ball to put her team in front 55-51.
From there, Brown scored four points down the stretch to ice things. She beat the shot clock buzzer with a long jumper with 1:26 remaining in regulation and converted a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
Mount Holyoke (2-6, 1-3 NEWMAC) will return to action on Tuesday, when it visits Worcester State University for a non-conference clash beginning at 7:00 p.m.