BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team to a 58-46 win over Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference action played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Leopards snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 11-13 (6-11) on the year, while Gordon falls to 3-20 (1-15). The win also gives the Leopards a berth in the CCC Tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
The Leopards overcame an early three-point deficit by scoring six straight points and taking a 6-3 lead on a freshman Megan McLaughlin (Stonington, Conn.) jumper. Gordon used a 7-0 run to take a 14-10 lead with 10:33 left and would lead by four on two other occasions, including at 20-16 on a sophomore Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) layup with 7:26 left in the half.
Wentworth countered with a 7-0 run of its own and took a 23-20 lead when senior Jordan Biggar (Beverly, Mass.) hit one of two free throws with 4:19 remaining in the half. After Kratche hit a jumper, to make it a 23-22 game, Kerr and McLaughlin scored back-to-back baskets to make it a five-point contest.
Gordon trimmed the lead to one on a pair of occasions, including on a freshman Mariel Barner (Colorado Springs, Colo.) basket with 43 seconds left, but one of two free throws and a layup just before time expired by Leopard freshman Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) made it a 32-28 game at the break.
The Leopards opened the second half on an 8-1 run, thanks in part to four points from senior Ashley Conway (Danvers, Mass.), and led by 11 (40-29) with 15:08 left in the game. The Fighting Scots cut the lead to six, but five points from Kerr and two from McLaughlin pushed the lead to 13.
Gordon came within nine on a Barner basket with 4:34 left, but would be as close as the visitors would get as Conway answered with a 3-pointer and freshman Rachael Camara (Fall River, mass.) hit two free throws to make it a 14-point game late.
Conway added 11 points and five steals in her final Tansey Gym appearance, while McLaughlin had eight. Biggar, who was also played in her final home game, had seven points, three rebounds, and two steals. Rogers finished with seven points and 11 rebounds and Camara had seven assists. The Leopards, who held the Fighting Scots to 25.9 percent from the floor in the second half, had a 41-35 rebounding advantage.
Kratche had 17 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and three steals for Gordon, while junior Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) added eight points and six assists.
Wentworth rounds out the regular season at Curry on Saturday while Gordon hosts Salve Regina on Thursday.
