MILTON, Mass – Freshman Molly Plunkett's (Quincy, Mass.) layup with 33 seconds remaining gave the Curry College women's basketball team a 54-53 lead as the Colonels, who trailed by as many as 12 early in the fourth quarter, rallied past Wentworth Institute of Technology, 55-53, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest Saturday afternoon.
With the win Curry improves to 9-10 overall and 6-6 in league play while the Leopards fall to 6-13 (2-10).
The Leopards scored the first six points of the contest on three pointers from senior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) and a Camara trifecta gave Wentworth a 10-4 lead with 3:09 left. Plunkett cut the lead in half on Curry's next possession and senior Kerry White (Windham, N.H.) hit one of two free throws with two seconds left to make it 10-8 after the first quarter.
Wentworth extended its lead to 21-12 with 3:58, thanks to a 6-0 spurt. Senior Carly Rogers had four points and sophomore Courtney McCormick (Hanson, Mass.) had two. White made one of two from the line with 2:01 left before Rogers' jumper with 1:23 left made it 23-13 in favor of Wentworth at halftime.
After senior Shannon Griffith (West Hartford, Conn.) opened the second half with a layup Wentworth went on an 8-1 run and took its largest lead of the game, 31-16, when Camara hit two free throws. The Leopards led by 15 two other times, including when freshman Michelle McCloskey (Madison, Conn.) made a layup with 4:17 left. The Colonels scored the next four points but Camara answered with a three. While Camara's trifecta was Wentworth's final field goal of the quarter, Camara and classmate Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) each hit a pair of free throws. Junior Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.) hit a three with five ticks left to make it 43-33 after three quarters.
Sophomore Kellie Messer (Hollis, N.H.) gave the Black & Gold a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter and the Leopards would lead by eight after a Camara layup with 6:15 left. Curry answered with an 11-2 run and took a 52-51 lead on a senior Griffith jumper with 1:05 left.
Camara drained a pair of free throws to give Wentworth a 53-52 lead with 52 seconds left. On the Colonels' next possession, Plunkett missed a layup, however got her own rebound and score what would be the game-winning basket. Wentworth missed a three pointer on the offensive end and Keeney would hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds left to give the hosts a two-point lead. Off the second free throw attempt Curry grabbed its own rebound and Griffith was fouled.
Both of Griffith's free throws missed and the Leopards called a timeout to advance the ball into the frontcourt. However, Wentworth was not able to get a basket before time expired.
Freshman Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out seven assists. Sophomore Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) had 11 points and six rebounds.
Camara had 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Rogers had 13 points, eight rebounds, and pair of steals, while Messer had 11 points and five rebounds.
Wentworth hosts Western New England Tuesday night.
