BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) recorded her second straight double-double as she scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and senior Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) added nine points and 11 rebounds as the Wentworth women's basketball team outscored Emerson, 28-19 in the second half to win, 49-40. The win improves the Leopards to 2-1, matching the win total from the 2011-12 campaign.
The Lions scored the first basket of the game; a jumper by sophomore Kristin Brice (Indiana, Pa.) with 19:15 left but that would be the only lead of the half for the hosts. A 9-3 run – capped off by a basket from freshman Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) gave Wentworth a 9-5 lead, and, after the Lions cut the lead in half, the Leopards hit four straight free throws to increase the lead to six.
Wentworth led by four, 19-15, with 3:46 left on a 3-point play from Kerr before Emerson got consecutive baskets from junior Elissa Chojnicki (Dover, N.H.) and freshman Kelsey Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) to tie the game with 1:39 left. After a pair of free throws from Kerr with 41 ticks left, the Lions tied the game on a sophomore Catherine Cloutier (Methuen, Mass.) layup with 29 seconds left.
After neither team scored for the first 3:35 of the second half, Emerson took leads of 23-21 and 25-23 on Johnson baskets, sandwiched around a Kerr jumper. A 3-point play by senior Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.) put Wentworth up, 26-25, with 14:43 to play before a Brice jumper gave Emerson a lead. Kerr hit a jumper and junior Ashley Stowe (Voluntown, Conn.) buried two free throws to put the Leopards ahead for good at 30-27 with 13:00 left. The Lions pulled back within one on three occasions but Wentworth outscored the hosts 14-6 over the final 6:27 to seal the win.
Conway added nine points, while freshman Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) chipped in with eight rebounds in the win.
Brice led all scorers with 14 points, while Cloutier had eight points and 10 rebounds and Johnson added eight points and six rebounds.
Wentworth is idle until Wednesday, November 28, when the Leopards open Commonwealth Coast Conference play at the University of New England. Emerson, which suffered its first loss of the season (2-1), is at MIT on Saturday.
