Wentworth Wins Second Straight, Downs Mount Ida, 66-57

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior guard Michelle Fauci (Boxford, Mass.) scored 15 of her game-high 16 points in the second half to help pace the Wentworth women's basketball team to a 66-57 win over Mount Ida in a non-conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.

The visiting Mustangs turned an early three-point deficit into a 13-4 lead with a 13-1 run over a span of 5:48, capped off by a three-pointer from junior guard Becky Tisbert (Cambridge, Vt.).  After four straight points by the Leopards, Mount Ida upped its lead to 11 on two occasions, including on a jumper from senior guard Nicole Casimiro (Lee, N.H.) with 10:12 to play, which made the score 21-10.

Wentworth scored the next 10 points, cutting the lead to one (21-20) with 6:15 left in the half.  After Mount Ida upped its lead back to five with 5:19 left on a basket by sophomore forward Katie Morvan (Northbridge, Mass.), the Leopards closed out the half on a 13-1 run, and took a 33-26 lead at the break.  During the run, senior forward Jessie Coffey (Wakefield, R.I.) had five points, while as a team Wentworth shot 51.9 percent from the floor.

The Leopards began the second half the way they ended the first half, opening its lead to 47-32 with 14:20 remaining in the contest with Fauci scoring eight of Wentworth's first 14 points.  The lead would be extended to as much as 16 with just under five minutes remaining before the Mustangs began chipping away, eventually bringing the lead down to six with 39 seconds left, but could get no closer.

In addition to her game-high 16 points, Fauci had six rebounds, eight assists, and eight steals.  Junior forward Kirsten Vallone (Avon, N.Y.) scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Coffey chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.  The Leopardsscored 21 points off of 26 Mount Ida turnovers and had 23 points in transition.

Casimiro led Mount Ida with 15 points and had five assists, while Morvan chipped in with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

The win, Wentworth's second in a row, evens the Leopards' record at 4-4.  Wentworth closes out first semester play at RIT on Sunday, Dec, 13, at 6:00 p.m.  Mount Ida sees its two-game win streak come to an end and its record slip to 4-4.  The Mustangs are at UMass Boston on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at 5:30 p.m.