BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Kylie Beltz (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) led all scorers with 17 points as the Curry College women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 51-40 win over Wentworth in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Colonels improve to 10-7 overall and 7-3 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 4-13 (2-8).
After a slow offensive start by both teams, Curry took a 12-4 lead with 12:16 left in the half after a pair of Beltz free throws. Freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.) scored Wentworth's next 12 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers, and helped start a 7-0 run which brought the Leopards to within a point (24-23) with 1:38 left. That was as close as Wentworth came in the opening frame, as the Leopards trailed by four (28-24) at the half.
Curry opened the second half with baskets by junior Shannon Griffith (West Hartford, Conn.) and Beltz to take an eight-point lead before Deoleo drained a trifecta to cut the lead to five. From there Curry went on a 15-5 run and took a 47-32 lead after a senior Jeannette Fallon (Nashua, N.H.) basket with 7:43 to play. The Leopards would come within 11 on three different occasions but were unable to get any closer.
In addition to her 17 points, Beltz had nine rebounds and five steals. Griffith was also in double figures as she added 13 points and nine rebounds. Junior Kerry White (Windham, N.H.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and senior Samantha Corcoran (Hampton, N.H.) had 11 boards. The Colonels held a 60-36 rebounding advantage.
Deoleo led the Leopards with 15 points and also collected five rebounds. Junior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) and classmate Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) collected a team-high eight rebounds with Camara dishing out five assists.
Both teams continue CCC play on Wednesday as the Leopards are at Gordon and Curry hosts Eastern Nazarene.
