The home team jumped out to an early five-point advantage off of
a three from Katie Martore (Great Falls, VA) and a
lay-up from Robyn Burleson (Seattle, WA) in the
first minute of play. Smith got on the board at 16:41, as a bucket
from Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NJ) sparked a 13-0 run from the
Pioneers. Wellesley then chipped away at the eight-point Smith lead
with back-to-back lay-ups from Judine St. Gerard
(Milton, MA) and later knotted the game at 13-all with two from
Malia Maier (Torrance, CA) with 7:31 left in the
first half.
The rest of the period was a back-and-forth affair, featuring
four ties and three lead changes. Neither team could manage more
than a three-point lead as the Blue and the Pioneers went into the
locker room tied at 22-22.
Wellesley held a slim advantage early in the second half, with
Becca Kimball's (Weston, MA) conventional
three-point play giving the Blue a five-point lead at 14:19.
A jumper from Smith's Megan Kiefer (Oak Park, IL) then keyed
an 11-0 run from Smith, who turned a five-point deficit into a
six-point advantage with five minutes remaining in the game.
The Pioneer's benefited from four points from Devon Quattrocchi
(Brewster, NY) during the game-changing run, while also holding
Wellesley without a field goal for over nine minutes.
The Blue broke their drought with a Maier lay-up at 4:56 that
cut the Smith lead to four points, but a back-breaking three from
Elizabeth BelBruno (Hanover, NH) and solid free-throw shooting from
the visitors doomed Wellesley who dropped their 2010 opener.
For Smith, Vuono recorded a double-double with game-highs of 15
points and 13 rebounds while also picking up five steals.
Quattrocchi posted 11 points and five steals while BelBruno
and Berit Schelde (Holstebro, Denmark) each notched eight points
and three assists.
Wellesley was led by Burleson who picked up nine points, while
Kimball recorded eight points and five rebounds. Martore and Maier
posted identical lines with five points, three steals and three
assists each. KD Stearns (Eustis, FL) and
Ashleigh Sargent (Bedford, NH) each added five
boards, with Sargent also picking up two blocks.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, January 9th, as
Wellesley travels to Springfield for a 1pm game and Smith travels
to MIT for a 2pm contest.
