BOSTON, Mass. – Wheelock College pulled past the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team in the second half as the hosting Wildcats won 51-41 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at The Winsor School Gym.
The Mountaineers led 23-9 at the break, but WC came back to make it a 1-point game by the end of the third. Wheelock then went on top in the fourth quarter and held on for the victory.
Southern Vermont (3-17, 2-9 NECC) is back at home for its next game as the Mountaineers host Becker College on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start.
SVC junior Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) registered her sixth double-double in the last seven games and her 11th of the season with 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Freshman Brenna Hudson (Malone, N.Y.) had a team-high 13 points while adding six boards to her line, and sophomore Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) notched four points, four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.
Wheelock secured a slim 42-41 advantage in rebounds while Southern Vermont won the turnover battle by committing a season-low 12 to WC's 18; the Mountaineers utilized those Wheelock mishaps to outscore the hosts 14-10 in points off turnovers.
Hudson had five points in the first quarter, and sophomore Dani Biggers (Broadalbin, N.Y.) drilled a three during the stanza for SVC to go in front 12-5 by its end. Four Mountaineers then tallied buckets for the visitors to score the opening 11 points of the second and bring a 23-9 advantage to the locker room; Hudson had another four points in that stretch while Main knocked down a shot from beyond the perimeter.
Wheelock went on a 12-2 run through the third to get within four, and a Wildcat triple then made it a 29-28 Southern Vermont edge with 58 seconds left in the period. A WC trey in the fourth sparked a 14-2 surge, which included a pair of and-1 plays, for the hosts to pull ahead. A Hudson jumper with 35 ticks on the clock brought SVC within six, but that would be the closest the Mountaineers would get as they couldn't connect the rest of the way for WC to finish off the win.
– #LetsGoSVC –