McLaughlin's Heroics Lift Women's Basketball to Win Over Manhattanville

BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Megan McLaughlin's (Southington, Conn.) buzzer beating 3-pointer lifted the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team to a 62-61 win over Manhattanville in the third place game of the Emerson College Tip-Off Tournament. McLaughlin's heroics came after the Valiants had taken a two-point lead on a three-point play with nine seconds left.

With the win, first-year head coach Matt Phippard earns his first career coaching victory as the Leopards improve to 1-1 on the season.

The game featured three ties in the early going, including at 16:44 before McLaughlin drained a shot from behind the arc to give the Leopards a 10-7 lead. After a freshman Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y.) fast break layup with 14:40 left, neither team would score over the next 5:18 until Manhattanville score four straight and took a 13-10 lead.

A pair of free throws from junior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave the Valiants a 19-14 lead with 5:18 left in the half, but a jumper by senior Ashley Stowe (Charlestown, R.I.) and a McLaughlin three tied the game for the fourth time of the half. Senior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) and Caiazzo traded baskets before senior Christine Henry (Tewksbury, Mass.) gave the Black & Gold a 24-21 lead with 1:14 left when she converted a three-point play.

Junior Shayna Robinson (Deer Park, N.Y.) hit one of two free throws and Caiazzo hit a layup with 26 seconds left to tie the game at 24-all at the half.

The Leopards scored the first four points of the second half and held a 30-28 lead with 16:37 left. From there Wentworth would score the next eight points – with five coming from Henry – to take a 38-28 lead with 14:18 left. Manhattanville countered with a 13-0 run over the next five and a half minutes and took a 41-38 lead on a layup from sophomore Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.J.).

Kerr scored six straight points to give the Leopards a 44-41 lead before the Vailants used a 7-2 spurt to take a 48-46 lead. The Leopards countered with a 9-0 run and held a seven-point (55-48) lead with 4:04 left. However, Manhattanville used a 8-1 run of its own, tying the game at 56-all on two free throws from Caiazzo.

On the ensuing possession, sophomore Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) hit two free throws to give Wentworth a 58-56 lead with 1:15 left. After Manhatanville freshman Candice Scott-Mason (Newark, N.J.) hit a layup to tie the game, sophomore Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) hit one of two free throws to put the Leopards ahead by one.

Caiazzo scored off a Raaf missed layup and converted the three-point play to give the Vailants a 61-59 lead with nine seconds left. Wentworth worked the ball into the front court and called a timeout to set up the game's final play, where Henry would find McLaughlin for the game-winning shot.

Four players scored in double figures for the Leopards as McLaughlin had a career-high 18 on 7-for-9 shooting, including going 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Camara, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team, had 13 points, six rebounds, and four steals, while Kerr and Stowe had 10 points apiece. Stowe also had 10 rebounds and four assists while Kerr had eight rebounds.

Caiazzo led all scorers with 22 points (on 8-for-14 shooting) to go along with 17 rebounds. Scott-Mason chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Wentworth hosts New England College on Thursday.