WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Alex Moore (West Newbury, Mass.) scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Rhode Island College women's basketball team outscored Wentworth Institute of Technology 53-33 over the final three quarters in a 62-52 victory. The game was the consolation game of the 2016 Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament.
With the win the Anchorwomen improve to 2-1 while the Leopards slip to 0-3.
Wentworth held a 19-9 lead after the first quarter of play. Both teams' offenses struggled early as the two teams combined for just five points over the first 4:49. A junior Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) jumper with 4:50 remaining ignited a 17-6 run for the Black & Gold with sophomore Baylor Johnson (Greer, S.C.) scoring nine points in the run and freshman Sam McGibbon (Pembroke, Mass.) adding six. The Leopards shot 61.5 percent from the floor during the opening 10 minutes.
Rhode Island College outscored Wentworth 20-8 in the second quarter, forcing the Leopards to shoot just 17.6 percent from the floor. An 8-0 run midway through the quarter brought the Anchorwomen to within three (22-19) after a junior Jessa Rubera (Newton, Mass.). Freshman Maya Spence (Georgetown, Mass.) drained a three to put Wentworth back up by six, however Rubera brought the deficit to three with a trifecta; her ninth straight point. Sophomore Michelle McCloskey (Madison, Conn.) made a layup to push the lead to five but back-to-back three pointers from Moore and a Rubera free throw gave Rhode Island College a 29-27 lead at the break.
Midway through the third quarter Sabino hit a pair of free throws to make it a 36-34 game, however the Anchorwomen used a 12-2 run to take a 48-36 lead with 1:17 left in the quarter and would lead, 48-37, at the end of the third. Rhode Island College held Wentworth without a field goal for the final 3:29 of the quarter.
Rhode Island College lead by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter before an 8-2 Leopard run cut the lead to 11. Johnson had four points during the run and would drain a three with 2:34 left to bring the deficit to nine. The Anchorwomen pushed the lead to 14 with five of six free throws down the stretch to halt the comeback attempt.
In addition to Moore's 24 points, Rubera had 18 points and three assists while freshman Fatima McDonald (Attleboro, Mass.) had eight points and six rebounds.
Johnson had a career-high 16 points in the loss as she went 6-for-7 from the floor and also grabbed three rebounds. Sabino and McGibbon had nine points apiece with Sabino also hauling down a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior Kellie Messer had four points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
Wentworth hosts the University of S. Joseph on Tuesday night.
