BOSTON, Mass. – Trailing by 11 points at the half, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team outscored Nichols, 42-21, over the final 20 minutes as the Leopards snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 65-55 win over the Bison in Commonwealth Coast Conference action played at Tansey Gymnasium.
A trio of players scored in double figures for the Black & Gold, including junior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Wentworth improves to 4-11 overall and 2-6 in CCC play while Nichols falls to 4-10 (1-7).
Freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.) kicked off the scoring with a made layup, and Rogers followed it up with one of her own to put Wentworth up 4-0 early. Nichols responded with seven straight points to go up 7-4. Following five lead changes in the first, Nichols jumped ahead by nine points thanks to a three-point play from freshman Brooke Packard (Dudley, Mass.). The Leopards cut the lead down to five, but seven straight points for Nichols brought the deficit to 12 and the Bison entered halftime up 34-23.
Wentworth slowly but steadily chipped away at the Nichols lead in the second half. A 9-3 run for the Leopards tied the contest at 43-all with 8:32 remaining when Deoleo hit a layup. The Bison briefly regained a two point lead, but Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) tied it up again with a jumper with 7:43 left.
The Leopards didn't look back from there, as the Black & Gold gained the lead after a pair of Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) free throws. Camara followed up with a 3-pointer to put the Black and Gold up 50-45 with 5:55 left. Nichols pulled within four with 3:03 left on a senior Alexis Wegrzynek (Wilbraham, Mass.) free throw, but Wentworth hit 11 free throws down the stretch to extend its lead.
Deoleo scored 15 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out five assists while Camara had a dozen points and five rebounds. In the second half the Leopards shot 52.4 percent from the floor while holding the Bison to 24.2 percent.
Wegrzynek led the Bison with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists while Packard also scored in double figures with 11 points. Nichols held a 42-30 rebounding advantage.
Both teams resume conference play on Tuesday night. Wentworth travels to Endicott for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off, while Nichols makes the trip to Eastern Nazarene for a 5 p.m. start.
