BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology Women's basketball team rallied to defeat New England College 59-46 behind three double-digit scores in its home opener. Senior Kendra Kerr (Marshfield, Mass.) led all scorers with 18 points, with 12 of those coming in the second half. The victory improves the Leopards' record to 2-1 and the defeat drops the Pilgrims to 2-2.
Wentworth jumped out to an early 11-4 lead behind Rachael Camara's (Fall River, Mass.) four points and Carly Rogers' (Scarborough, Maine) corner three. UNE tightened up their defense and ripped off 12 straight points to take the lead 16-11.
The Pilgrims' lead would balloon to 10 with the score 25-15 after an Utshana Durham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) jump shot. The Leopards battled back in the final minutes of the half to cut the lead to six at 29-23. Each team turned the ball over 12 times in the first half but the Pilgrims held a 16-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Wentworth stormed out in the second half with six straight points after Senior Ashley Stowe (Charleston, R.I.) tied the game at 29-all with 15:32 remaining. The teams traded baskets on two straight possessions before Kerr, Rogers and Camara sparked a Leopards' 12-0 run to extend their lead to 48-35.
NEC would get within six when Kiley Williams (Salem, Utah) hit a turnaround from the block to make the score 50-44, but the Leopards would pull away with 9-2 run.
In addition to scoring 18 points, Kerr grabbed seven rebounds. Camara added 14 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, and dished out five assists while Rogers chipped in with 10 points. Senior Christine Henry (Tewksbury, Mass.) had nine points on the evening.
Junior Taylor Burgess led the Pilgrims with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Classmate Kayla Lawlor (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) chipped in with 10 points, four assists, and three steals.
Wentworth is idle until its hosts the University of St. Joseph on Monday, December 2. New England College is at Eastern Nazarene on Saturday.
