MILTON, Mass. – Freshman Brianna Hoffman (Milford, N.H.) came off the bench to lead a trio of double digit scorers as the Curry College women's basketball team outscored Wentworth, 31-14, in the second half, en route to a 56-38 win in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday evening.
The Colonels won their second straight contest to improve to 4-2 overall and remain undefeated (3-0) in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 3-5 (1-2).
Wentworth took an early 6-2 lead, thanks to six points from freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.). However, Curry would outscore the Leopards 11-2 over the next 4:45 and took a 13-6 lead on a pair of free throws from senior Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) with 8:28 left. The Leopards responded with a jumper from junior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) and five straight points from junior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) to tie the game at 13-all.
The Colonels regained the lead after a 9-0 run and led 22-15 on a Beltz free throw with 4:29 remaining. Five straight points from Rogers pulled the Leopards within a pair before sophomore Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.) hit a jumper with 2:17 left to make it a 24-20 game. Camara scored the next four points, including a basket with 56 seconds left to tie the game at 24-all, which is how the half ended.
A Keeney jumper1:51 into the second half made it a 30-26 contest before junior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) and sophomore Kellie Messer (Hollis, N.H.) tied the game at 30-all. Curry responded with an 8-0 run and took a 38-30 lead on a Hoffman 3-pointer. After Deoleo made a layup to make it 38-32, the Colonels scored the next seven points to extend their lead to 13 (45-32).
The Leopards went scoreless for a span of 6:47 late and were held without a field goal for the final 7:16 while Curry outscored the visitors 8-2 over that stretch.
Beltz had 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals while junior Shannon Griffith (West Hartford, Conn.) had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Rogers led the Leopards with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Deoleo chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds. Camara had six points and seven boards.
Wentworth resumes play on Sunday, December 28, against Wisconsin-Platteville at the D3Hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas. Curry faces Luther in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, December 29.
