NASHUA, NH - Sophomore Keneisha Milton (Boston, MA/Wayland) posted her 10th double-double of the season to help surprising Wheelock College keep pace with league leader Daniel Webster College deep into the second half of an eventual 59-40 defeat on Saturday at Vagge Gymnasium. The Wildcats fell to 4-16 overall and 3-10 in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), while the Eagles clinched the regular-season league crown with their 20th straight victory in improving to 21-2 and 14-0.
Milton finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, including the 100th of her career, while going 4-of-6 on free-throw tries. Senior Joy Holliday (Milford, MA/Milford) added eight points and three steals, as she shot 2-of-3 from three-point range, and junior Maya Spratling (Dorchester, MA/Cathedral) notched six points and six boards. Sophomore Taylor Rogers (Essex, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) added four points off the bench, and junior Kayla Drescher (Wallingford, MA/Mark T. Sheehan) blocked a pair of shots.
Junior Alyssa Regan (Salem, NH/Salem) led Daniel Webster with 13 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Sarah Paternostro (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) turned in 10 points, six boards, five assists and four steals. Junior Alycia Gervais (Windham, CT/Windham) had 15 rebounds and five steals, while classmate Vanessa Bosques (North Windham, CT/Windham) finished with seven points, seven caroms and five takeaways.
Wheelock scored the first four points of the game before Holliday snapped a tie with a three-pointer at 16:04 of the opening stanza, giving the visitors a 7-4 edge, and sparking an 11-4 run. Milton scored six points in that time, including the final four in giving the Wildcats a 15-8 advantage by 10:56. Daniel Webster regrouped with a 17-2 jaunt during an ensuing 8:48 stretch to go up 25-17, yielding only junior Jo Gomes' (Boston, MA/Newton Country Day School) bucket in that time. Senior Caitlin Kerr (Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) knocked down a triple 57 seconds before halftime to pull Wheelock within 25-20 by intermission.
The visitors made it a four-point game three times in the early portion of the final stanza, including at 29-25 on a Holliday hoop at 17:20 before the Eagles scored the next six points. Holliday canned a three-pointer with 12:22 to go, creating a 35-28 deficit for the Wildcats, but Daniel Webster scored the next 10 points to take control and never looked back. Wheelock came no closer than 14 during the final nine minutes.
The Wildcats head to Lesley University on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. contest.