WATERVILLE, MAINE – Wellesley College basketball used a big 18-0 run en route to a 69-50 win over Thomas College as part of the Gene DeLorenzo Tip Off Tournament hosted by Colby College on Saturday. The win is the second in a row for the Blue, who now sit at 2-1 on the year.

Sophomore Stacy Chen (Minneapolis, Minn.) went 8-of-10 from the field with 18 points and for the Blue. Sophomore Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) put in 17 points with four assists and three steals. Sophomore Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) recorded a 10 point, 14 rebound double-double. First-year Hailey Moy (San Francisco, Calif.) added 13 points.

The Terriers (1-2) were led by 14 points, including three shots from behind the arc, from senior Elena Alderman (Mount Desert Island, Maine). Sophomore Pryelle Kesse-Beda (Temecula, Calif.) grabbed 10 boards and scored 12 points.

Thomas came out and won the opening quarter, 16-10. Wellesley went up 8-2 early with Chen connecting on a pair of layups. The rest of the quarter was all Terriers, with a series of made free throws topped off by a pair of three-pointers.

The Blue used a 6-2 run in the first two minutes of the second to cut the deficit to 18-16. While Thomas brought it to 26-18 with four minutes remaining in the half, Wellesley refused to go away. Moy and Shane peppered the basket with points to get the Blue back within a point by halftime, 29-28.

The Terriers came out of the half with four unanswered before Blue staged a tactical 12-0 run across a 4:30 minute stretch, putting Wellesley up 40-33. A pair of threes from Alderman made it 40-39 before Wellesley responded with a deep ball from Barrow. A late pair of  Thomas foul shots left the Blue leading 44-43 with three quarters down.

The early stages of the fourth were tightly contested, with Thomas up 48-46 with just over nine minutes left. Once again, the Blue launched its offense, going on an 18-0 stretch over the next six minutes, including eight points from Chen, to put the game firmly out of reach.  

Wellesley was efficient as a team, shooting 50 percent on 25-for-50 shooting. The Blue forced 23 turnovers, leading to 21 points off of turnovers.

Both teams compete in the second day of the Gene DeLorenzo Tip Off Tournament tomorrow. Wellesley plays host Colby at noon while Thomas takes on Dean College at 2:00 PM.