BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Shannon Griffith (West Hartford, Conn.) led a quartet of double-figure scorers with 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Curry College women's basketball team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 67-60 in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Colonels even their record at 4-4 overall and stand at 2-1 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 3-4 (1-2).
The first quarter featured five ties and four lead changes with Curry leading by as many as four midway through the quarter. Wentworth would tie the game for the second time in the quarter on a sophomore Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) basket with 2:54 left and would even the score at 13-all on a fast break layup with 36 seconds left and senior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) gave the hosts a two-point lead (15-13) with a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left.
Wentworth opened the second quarter on a 9-3 run and took a 24-16 lead on a senior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) three-pointer with 6:25 left. Curry countered with a 12-0 run over the next 3:15 and led by four (28-24) after senior Kerry White (Windham, N.H.) hit two free throws. The Leopards pulled within one on a freshman Michelle McCloskey (Madison, Conn.) jumper with 2:01 left, however the Colonels led 31-28 at the break after a graduate student Christina Deiorio (Stoughton, Mass.) layup.
The Leopards cut the deficit to one on three occasions in the third quarter, including when McLaughlin hit a layup with 6:09 left. Curry would outscore the hosts 13-6 over the final 6:09 and took a 48-40 lead after three quarters of play.
Curry upped its lead to as many as 17 (59-42) with 5:51 left when Griffith hit a free throw and held a second, 17-point lead (61-44) after Deiorio hit two freebies with 5:07 left. Wentworth used a 12-2 run to pull within seven (63-56) on a Camara basket with 22 seconds left and moved within five with 10 seconds left, however could get no closer.
White scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Deiorio and freshman Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) added 10 each. White had three assists and two steals, Irwin had four steals, and Deiorio also had three assists. Junior Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.) had five assists.
Camara led all scorers with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and three steals. McLaughlin added 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while senior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) had 13 points and nine rebounds. Wentworth had a 41-36 rebounding advantage.
Wentworth hosts Pine Manor on Thursday while Curry is at Johnson & Wales on Saturday.
