WORCESTER -- Alex Scariati (Scotch Plains, NJ) and Victoria Mirecki (Washingtonville, NJ) each reached double figures in scoring and the WPI defense held visiting Wellesley to just 12 second half points as the Engineers bested the Blue 50-31 in a NEWMAC women's basketball contest played inside Harrington Auditorium on Wednesday.
With the result, WPI ups its record to 15-4 on the season and 5-1 in conference action and are one of four teams in the NEWMAC with just one loss in league play, trailing No. 5 and NEWMAC unbeaten Smith. The Crimson Gray hosts another one-loss team on Saturday, entertaining Springfield at 1pm. Wellesley dips to 7-13 overall, 1-5 in the NEWMAC and is off until next Wednesday when they host No. 16 Babson at 7pm.
Leading just 23-19 at the intermission, the Crimson and Gray defense flexed their muscles, forcing the guests to misfire on their first 11 shots from the field in the third quarter. WPI rattled off 13 of the frame's first 14 points to send its advantage into double digits, where it would stay for the rest of the game. Wellesley only connected on two field goals in the fourth quarter and shot only 13.6% (13-of-22) in the second half.
Scariati and Mirecki both finished with 10 points and accounted for nine of WPI's 11 fourth quarter points. Mirecki was 3-for-4 from the field in the final stanza while Scariati drained a trifecta. Lisa Cristiano (Valhalla, NY) added eight points and Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) and Melanie Presseau (Manchester, NH) both registered seven with Presseau canning a pair of three-pointers.
The hosts enjoyed a significant edge on the glass, outrebounding Wellesley 44-28. Kelly, who had equaled her career-high with 10 boards last game, established a new career-best with 12 caroms, while Scariati grabbed eight and Mirecki gobbled up seven. On the night, the Engineers parlayed 17 offensive rebounds into 10 second chance points. Cristiano doled out a game-high 4 four assists and Scariati shared the game-best steal honors with three.
It was the Wellesley defense that headlined the first quarter, as the visitors held the Boynton Hillers to 2-of-15 (13.3%) shooting from the floor en route to taking a 10-4 lead into the second quarter. At that point the WPI offense started to click, and the Engineers outscored the Blue 19-9 in the second stanza to take the four-point bulge into the locker room at the break.
Seven different players dented the scoring column for the Blue with Pujita Shukla (Austin, TX) leading the way with seven points and Yitzel Serna (Palmdale, CA) chipping in with six. Shukla swiped three steals on the night and Sairah O'Brien-Forde (Binghamton, NY) registered four rebounds.