QUINCY, Mass. – Playing in its second straight and third overtime game of the season, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team suffered its second straight defeat as the Leopards were edged by Eastern Nazarene, 77-72, in double overtime in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest.
With the win the Lions snap a five-game skid and improve to 6-15 on the year with a 2-12 mark in the CCC. The Leopards drop to 7-13 overall and 4-10 in league play with the loss.
Senior Abbie Tonello (Bourne, Mass.) paced the hosts with a career-best 21 points while adding nine rebounds and four steals. Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.) registered a double-double with 11 points and 13 boards. Ruby Leon (Fairfield, Calif.) finished with 14 points and five assists.
The two teams traded the lead through the opening 5:30 of action.
Wentworth grabbed a five-point edge with 11:24 left to play in the period as Christine Henry (Tewksbury, Mass.) sank a three-pointer, 13-8. The Leopards extended their lead to seven with 4:13 remaining on a lay-up by Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine), 23-16.
Eastern Nazarene tallied 10 consecutive points to claw back into the game and seize a 26-23 advantage with 1:06 left to play as Krystal Holl (Hagerstown, Md.) drilled a trey and Katy Teare (Frazier Park, Calif.) followed with a put-back lay-in.
The Leopards notched five points in the final minute to claim a 28-26 lead at the halftime intermission.
The home side sported a shooting percentage of 50% from the floor and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc at the half. Wentworth shot 25% from the field in the opening frame and drained two treys on eight attempts.
Holl and Tonello each poured in six points in the first half to lead the Lions. Leon and Saint-Pierre each netted five first-half points.
Wentworth established a six-point lead with 13:22 remaining as Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) knocked down a jumper, 41-35.
Eastern Nazarene rallied to level the score at 44-44 with 8:06 on the clock as Nicole Greer (Odenton, Md.) banked in a lay-up.
The Leopards netted back-to-back lay-ups in the final two minutes to capture a 58-54 edge with 53 seconds left to play.
Eastern Nazarene responded with lay-ins by Saint-Pierre and the tying lay-up by Jasmine Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.) with 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
After finishing regulation knotted a 58-58, the two teams matched each other in the first overtime session. Both squads chalked up six points in the extra frame, forcing double overtime.
The Lions evened the game at 64-64 with less than 10 seconds left to play in the first overtime period as Leon drove to the hoop and deposited a lay-in.
Eastern Nazarene tied the score at 68-68 on a free throw by Leon with 3:22 remaining in the second overtime frame. Leon sank the second free throw to give the Lions a 69-68 lead that they would not relinquish.
The hosts drained four shots from the charity stripe in the final 1:21 to secure their second conference win of the season.
Eastern Nazarene shot 47.6% from the field on the day, including 3-for-7 from outside the arc. The Leopards connected on 33.3% of their field-goal attempts in the game and just 2-of-14 from three-point range.
Kerr led Wentworth with 25 points and 19 rebounds in the contest. Two of the three overtime games the Leopards have been involved in this season have been double overtime affairs.
Both teams are in action on Wednesday as Eastern Nazarene travels to the Salve Regina and Wentworth hosts Western New England.
(Portions of this recap courtesy of Eastern Nazarene Sports Information)