CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Mount Ida hit seven three-pointers and got 21 assists, at least one from every player on the court, in a 66-41 victory over Wheelock College on Tuesday night evening at Brunelli Court on the campus of Pine Manor College.
The Mustangs (2-4) earned their second consecutive victory, while the Wildcats drop to 1-4 on the season.
Freshman Katlyn Jesse (Marshfield, Mass.) had a season-high 17 points to lead the Mustangs, shooting 7-for-14 from the field and hitting twice from behind the three-point line. Jesse also dished out a game-high six assists.
Reigning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Week Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.) had another double-double, racking up 13 points and pulling down 22 rebounds, her second straight game with over twenty boards.
Mount Ida shot 41.2% (7-for-17) from behind the three-point line in the game and 40% from the field in the first half, in which they took a 38-20 lead. Martinez had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, already securing her fourth double-double of the season, and she ended the game with four steals and three blocks as well.
Stephanie Champoux (Tewksbury, Mass.) added 11 points, nine of them in the first half, and five assists, while Alysha Dunbar (Quincy, Mass.) was in double-figures with 10 points off the bench to go with four assists for the Mustangs.
Dunbar and senior Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, Conn.) each hit a pair of three's and had two steals. Fedigan had eight points and eight rebounds in the game.
Mount Ida held Wheelock to just .206 (14-68) shooting from the field, including 4-18 from three-point range.
The Mustangs scored 20 of the first 23 points of the first half, behind seven points from Martinez, to take a 20-3 advantage with 10:39 left in the first half. The Wildcats responded with six unanswered points to cut the deficit to 20-9 with 8:53 showing, but a 9-2 stretch from Mount Ida pushed the visitors' lead to 29-11 with 6:08 to go in the opening half. Wheelock managed to whittle the margin down to 33-20 with 2:50 remaining in the period, before Fedigan drained a three just before the half to give the Mustangs a 38-20 halftime lead.
Sophomore guard Katie Alsip (Quincy, Mass.) made a layup for the Wildcats with 18:25 showing in the second half to make it 38-24, but Mount Ida put the game away with 14 straight points as Fedigan and Dunbar combined for 10 points to give the Mustangs a 52-24 cushion. Mount Ida took its largest lead at 62-31 with 4:37 left in the game and held off Wheelock the rest of the way.
Freshman point guard Jaime Grzych (Columbia, Conn.) led the Wildcats with 10 points in addition to four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Senior guard Jessica Ramsey (Milford, Mass.) came off the bench to net 10 points as well and added eight rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot. Freshman forward Shannon Garvey (Clarksburg, Mass.) pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds to go with five points and an assist.
The Mustangs will enjoy the Thanksgiving break before returning to action on December 3rd. Mount Ida will travel to UMass Boston for a 5:30 pm non-conference matchup with the Beacons.
Wheelock, who dropped their third straight game, will look to rebound the same day when they open New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play by hosting Mitchell at 7:30 pm.