NEWPORT, R.I. – First year Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) scored 20 points with 10 rebounds for Wellesley College basketball in a 66-51 NEWMAC setback to Salve Regina University at Rodgers Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Sofia Neary (Wayne, N.J.) stuffed the statsheet for the Seahawks (11-9 Overall, 4-3 NEWMAC). Neary scored 17 points with 12 boards, six blocks and a quartet of steals. Senior Ashley Rourke (Londonderry, N.H.) topped Salve Regina's scoring with 17 tallies, including eight made free throws. Graduate students Amanda Folan (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) both reached double digits in points.
Shane shot 9-of-16 from the floor for the Blue (6-14 Overall, 1-6 NEWMAC). Classmate Stacy Chen (Minneapolis, Minn.) chipped in 13 points with three steals. Sophomore Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) paced Wellesley with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The teams remained within a possession of one another throughout the opening seven minutes before Wellesley scored five straight to go up 15-11 on a Shane layup. The Seahawks knotted the game up at 15-15 before a last second layup from senior Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.) put the Blue up 17-15 after one frame.
After staying within arm's length for much of the second quarter, the Seahawks upped the lead to seven at 30-23 with four minutes left in the half. By halftime, Salve Regina led 34-25. B. Neary and Shane had eight points in the half for their respective teams. S. Neary swatted away four shots in the half.
Despite never regaining the lead, Wellesley briefly made it a two-point game at 34-32 on a shot from behind the arc by first year Proud Techarungchaikul (Bangkok, Thailand). From there, a 9-2 Seahawks run put the hosts firmly ahead. Salve Regina headed into the final quarter up 43-37.
The Seahawks outscored the Blue 23-14 in the closing stanza. The closest the Blue came was four points early in the period at 43-39. By the end, the hosts had taken 22 foul shots, while the visitors attempted a mere three.
Salve Regina went 25-for-59 (42.4%) shooting for the game while Wellesley was 22-of-68 (32.4%). The Seahawks capitalized on 17 points off of turnovers and narrowly won the battle of the boards; 45-41.
Both teams hit the road for NEWMAC games on Wednesday, February 12. The Blue play at Wheaton College at 7:00 PM while the Seahawks travel to Springfield College for a 5:00 PM tip-off.
