Curry Uses Fast Start to Roll Past Women's Basketball

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) scored 19 points to lead the Curry women's basketball team over Wentworth Institute of Technology 58-30 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Wednesday evening inside Tansey Gymnasium.

With the win, the Colonels break .500 in the conference at 6-5 and improve to 10-8 overall, while the Leopards drop to 1-10 in the CCC and 2-16 this season.

The Colonels came flying out of the gates after the opening whistle and jumped to a 10-0 lead with five points from Irwin. The Leopards couldn't get the shots to fall, as Curry tacked on another four answered points via Irwin and junior Molly Plunkett (Quincy, Mass.) Freshman Gina Coote (Dedham, Mass.) gave the visitors a 16-0 lead with 4:15 left to go in the first quarter, before junior Michelle McCloskey (Madson, Conn.) put Wentworth on the board at 2:58. Freshman Stephanie Mini (Topsfield, Mass.) gave the Leopards their first trey of the game with 1:31 left, but Irwin's seven points throughout the first quarter gave Curry a 16-5 lead heading into the second.

The Leopards used a 5-3 run to open the second quarter, as a jumper from sophomore Samantha Madden (Pembroke, Mass.) cut the double-digit lead, 18-10. Irwin put Curry back out of range with a trey off the pass from sophomore Sam Bradford (Easton, Mass.) before McGibbon drained a three-pointer to trail the Colonels 23-15. Senior Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) responded with a trey of her own, as Curry turned a 7-2 run to close the first half with a 33-17 advantage.

The Leopards hung with Curry in the third quarter, as the Colonels only outscored the hosts 9-7 in the frame. Curry used a 6-2 run to open the fourth quarter, as a freebie from Bradford doubled the lead 46-26. Curry carried its momentum until the final buzzer, grabbing its largest lead of 29 points with 2:03 left in regulation.

Irwin added six boards and seven assists to her game-high 19 points, while Plunkett and Rice finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bradford finished with a team-best eight assists, and added four points and four rebounds.

Mini was the lone Leopard to reach double-digits in scoring, and finished with 11 points and four rebounds. McCloskey led Wentworth on the glass with a team-best 10 boards.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 27 at 1:00 p.m. The Leopards are back on the road at Eastern Nazarene, while the Colonels host Endicott.

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