WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College basketball erased a 17 point deficit but ultimately fell 58-55 to Salem State University in a non-conference game at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

Junior Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) led the way for the Vikings (4-5) with a 16 point, 13 rebound double-double. Senior Abuk Teng (Manchester, N.H.) scored 12 points with seven boards and classmate Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) added four assists.

Sophomore Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) hit 9-of-10 foul shots in an 18 points performance for the Blue (3-7) and snatched five steals. Senior Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.) contributed 14 points and eight rebounds while junior Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) and first year Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) combined for 22 boards.    

Down 10 to start the fourth, the Blue strung together five points to make 44-39 Salem State with 6:40 remaining. The Vikings got its advantage back to eight on a Gates three just past the halfway point of the frame. A three-point play by sophomore Mirella Funari (Phoenix, Ariz.) was followed by Barrow foul shots and a Windross layup to make it a single-point game with two minutes left on the clock.

Gates made it a two-possession contest for Salem State with a triple at 1:55 before Shane hit a foul and Barrow kicked a pass to Windross, who cashed a three to knot the affair up at 55-55. Salem State reclaimed the lead with a trio of Goncalves free throws. The Blue couldn't find a basket in the final ten seconds, with the comeback effort coming up just short. 

Salem State led 14-8 after 10 minutes with a balanced scoring attack. Six players registered at least a point for the Vikings. Windross tallied five points to lead the Blue. 

Wellesley cut the lead down to a bucket on multiple occasions, but a Teng long ball with less than two minutes in the half gave Salem State its largest lead at 27-20. The teams traded baskets in the final seconds to send the action into the break with a 29-22 Vikings advantage. Teng led all players with eight points, while Windross had seven for Wellesley. 

The Vikings started the third quarter with six unanswered points. The visitors ran the score up to 42-25 after six minutes of action before Wellesley settled in with five Barrow tallies and Windross layup made it a 10 point game after three quarters.

Next up, Wellesley will welcome in the new year with a home game at 1:00 PM against Wentworth Institute of Technology on Thursday, January 2, 2025. Salem State hosts Bowdoin College at 7:00 PM on Thursday, December 12.