South Hadley, MA --- Senior Priscilla Dunphy (Barrington, RI), and juniors Ama Biney (Worcester, MA) and Madison Beck (Syracuse, NY) all scored in double digits as WPI defeated Mount Holyoke, 74-42, in a NEWMAC women's basketball matchup Thursday night.
The win was No. 300 for Engineer head coach Cherise Galasso, which includes 35 in three years at Regis. Overall, Galasso sports a 300-217 record (.580) and is 265-179 (.597) in 17 seasons on Boynton Hill. Oddly enough, men's head coach Chris Bartley reached No. 300 on the road at Coast Guard earlier in the season.
WPI (14-2, 6-1 NEWMAC) saw Biney (16pts) and Dunphy (12pts) do their damage as starters while Beck came off the bench to score 13 and tied her career-high of eight rebounds. Biney also logged five steals, four defensive rebounds, three assists and a block. Junior Maura Buckley (Melrose, MA) chipped in with six rebounds, five points, two steals and two blocks. Freshmen Alana Keating (Leominster, MA) and Spencer Visnon (Los Angeles, CA) each established new career-highs of six and five points, respectively.
For the Lyons (2-11, 0-7 NEWMAC), senior Xajaah Williams-Flores (The Bronx, NY) led the team with a 10 point and 10 rebound double-double in 28 minutes of action. Rookie Katlyn Grover (Bernardston, MA) also had a strong game with nine points, all from downtown. Grover has hit six three-pointers in the last two games.
MHC got out to a fast start, connecting on four out of its first six shots to take an early 8-9 advantage. The next possession, Grover knocked down a three from the wing for the 11-9 lead.
The Engineers countered with a 10-0 run powered by two treys from Dunphy to make it 19-11. Williams-Flores was able to knock down a layup off of a miss to cut the deficit to 19-13, but junior Stasha Greenalch (Newington, CT) finished a fast-break layup to end the quarter, 21-13.
In the second quarter, the Engineers picked up the pressure and went on a 25-5 run led by Biney who had 7 points in the stanza. MHC junior Genesis DiCarlo (Sullivan, ME) made a jumper with 34 seconds to go to cut the lead to 45-20 heading into the half.
WPI got out to another hot start in the third, going on a 9-0 run, but MHC went on a run of its own as Grover connected on a deep three and Williams-Flores knocked down a layup for a 54-25 score. Keating hit a three with 2:12 to go in the stanza, but Williams-Flores scored a layup on the next possession to send the game into the fourth with WPI up 64-29.
Mount Holyoke outscored WPI in the fourth, 13-10, led by freshman Kathryn Violette (Yokosuka City, Japan). She posted six points, including a deep three with the shot clock winding down. Despite a pair of free throws from rookie Sade Chuckas (Evanston, IL) in the final 26 seconds, the Lyons could not get closer.
WPI will be back in action on Wednesday, when it hosts Springfield at 7pm. Mount Holyoke will head to Wheaton Saturday for a 1pm start.
Portions Release Courtesy Mount Holyoke Sports Information