BOSTON, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College women's basketball team was downed 62-31 Saturday afternoon, losing to Wheelock College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at Winsor Court.
The hosting Wildcats went into the halftime break ahead 31-16 and extended their upper hand through the final 20 minutes for the league win.
SVC (1-11, 1-6 NECC) is back in action on Wednesday, visiting Elms College for a 7 p.m. NECC matchup.
Southern Vermont senior captain Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) tallied a team-high 10 points to go with her five rebounds while junior Chloe Longe (Enosburg Falls, Vt.) had seven points and a team-best nine boards. Freshman Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) also scored seven points as classmate Kelley Dobbert (Stamford, Vt.) came off the bench to tally five rebounds and a pair of blocks.
WC shot 33.8 percent (23-68) from the floor while the Mountaineers finished at a 21.6 percent (11-51) clip. The Wildcats took a 55-33 advantage on the glass and outscored SVC from the paint by a 30-12 margin.
A Mallett jumper midway through the opening period tied things at 4-4 before Longe once again evened the score with a successful pair of free throws. Following a Dow layup, Wheelock ended the quarter with five-straight points to go in front 14-8.
A 9-0 WC run to start the second was ended by a short-range basket by Southern Vermont senior Abbi Molner (Wilmington, Vt.), but Wheelock then notched six more unanswered points to take a 19-point lead. SVC sophomore Amber Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.) dropped a three-pointer with 1:54 left to go in the stanza, and a Mallet and-one play concluded the scoring before halftime for the deficit to be cut down to 13.
The Wildcats got those points back once play resumed, eventually returning the separation to 19. Dow knocked home a triple with 4:29 left to go, but WC answered with one of its own at the other end. Two Wildcat free throws with just 13 seconds on the clock then made it a 44-27 game heading into the fourth quarter. Wheelock maintained its offensive success in the final frame to finish off the Conference win.
– #LetsGoSVC –