BOSTON, Mass. – Despite a career-high 25 points from sophomore Stephanie Mini (Topsfield, Mass.), the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team suffered its first Commonwealth Coast Conference loss, 66-58, in a head-to-head matchup with Gordon College on Wednesday evening inside Tansey Gymnasium.
Mini went 8-for-21 from the floor, and scored 12 points from three-point territory, while adding 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
Gordon made a 10-2 dent with 6:20 expired from the first quarter, using six straight points from junior Sarah Gibbs (Elizabethtown, Pa.). The Leopards fired back with an 8-0 run to deadlock the score 10-10, before a jumper from senior Brooke Dyson (Milford, N.H.) and junior Meghan Foley (Malden, Mass.) gave Gordon a 14-10 after the first 10 minutes.
The shots kept falling for Gordon in the second frame, as senior Laura Paquette (Reading, Pa.) capped an 8-0 charge with a trey at 5:59 for the 22-10 lead. With 1:22 to go until the half, Mini sank a jump shot to shrink the deficit to seven points on the end of a 13-6 run for Wentworth, as Gordon held a 28-23 advantage heading into the break.
The Leopards hit a turning point in the third quarter, as Mini went 2-for-3 from three-point territory and deadlocked the score 40-40 with 2:15 left until the last quarter. Both teams battled back and forth for the lead, as a 7-1 run capped by a trey from junior Maya Spence (Georgetown, Mass.) gave the Leopards a 55-50 advantage. The Fighting Scots were down but not out, and used a 6-0 run – including a three-pointer from sophomore Megan Hasty (Vernon, Conn.), to quickly regain the lead 56-55. Gordon's defense held the Leopards to just three points in the closing minutes, scoring 11 of their own, to seal the game 66-58.
Morton joined Mini in double figures with 11 points, seven assists, and four steals, while junior Emily Magasic (New Milford, N.J.) pulled down eight rebounds and added a pair of blocks.
Foley tied Mini's game-high 25 points and 13 boards, while Dyson went 6-for-16 and a near-perfect 5-for-6 from the line for 17 points. Gibbs grabbed 14 rebounds while adding nine points overall.
Wentworth (0-6) is back inside Tansey Gymnasium on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. conference tilt with Western New England.
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