CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The Wheelock College women's basketball team turned a 14-point deficit into a four-point hole early in the second half during an eventual 60-43 loss to Becker College on Thursday evening in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play at Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court. The Wildcats fell to 4-15 overall and 3-9 in the league, while the Hawks improved to 6-14 and 4-8, breaking a seventh-place tie.
Sophomore Keneisha Milton (Boston, MA/Wayland) turned in her ninth double-double of the season for Wheelock, notching 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with a pair of assists and steals apiece. Junior Maya Spratling (Dorchester, MA/Cathedral) recorded eight points and five boards, classmate Kayla Drescher (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) hauled in 12 rebounds and blocked four shots, and junior Jo Gomes (Boston, MA/Newton Country Day School) collected four caroms.
Becker, which is 4-3 since a 2-11 start, received 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks from freshman Tatiana Mojica (Worcester, MA/Doherty Memorial), while sophomore Nicole Morse (Alton, NH/New Hampton School) had 12 points and two rejections off the bench. Junior Kristina Desnoyers (Adams, MA/Hoosac Valley) added nine boards, and freshman Haley Ooms (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) collected a game-high seven assists.
Senior Joy Holliday (Milford, MA/Milford) nailed a jumper 54 seconds after the opening tip to give Wheelock the lead before Becker scored 12 of the next 14 points, as Mojica provided eight to give her squad a 12-4 advantage by 14:02 of the opening stanza. Milton's bucket later drew the hosts within 14-8, but the Hawks pushed their lead out to 14 three times, including on a Mojica hoop at 2:42 that provided the visitors with a 28-14 cushion.
Behind a big push from Milton, the Wildcats scored the final eight points of the half during a 10-0 run that bridged halftime. Milton followed a long jumper from the corner with a fast-break lay-in, and she capped a personal 6-0 run with a put-back of her own miss with a little less than a minute remaining. Spratling's baseline jumper rattled around and fell just before the buzzer, making it 28-22 in favor of the Hawks at intermission.
Milton's driving lay-up 15 ticks into the final period capped the run, bringing Wheelock within four, but Becker slowly built its lead back into double digits and pulled away. Spratling knocked down a jumper at 17:58 to make the score 32-26, but the Hawks made it 45-30 by 9:12 on Desnoyers' steal and transition hoop and never again led by fewer than a dozen.
Wheelock heads to league-leading Daniel Webster College on Saturday at 1 p.m.