WBB Can't Overcome Rough First Half, Falls to Wellesley

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Mitchell College women's basketball team dropped a 48-35 decision to Wellesley College on Friday night in the opening round of the USJ Blue Jays Tip-Off Tournament at the O'Connell Center.

Francesca Pinard came off the bench to lead the Mariners (0-2 overall) with 13 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Jess Shepherd also scored in double digits with 12 points, all of which came in the second half.

Emily Kopp finished with a game-high 14 points to pace Wellesley (1-0 overall).

Mitchell got off to a slow start and never recovered. The Mariners shot just 14 percent in the first half and trailed 25-11 at the break. Pinard accounted for eight points in the stanza as the rest of the squad combined for only three points on 1-for-17 shooting.

The Mariners outscored the Blue in the second half but never got the deficit to single digits. Mitchell finished with 34 turnovers in the contest and shot just 29 percent from the field.

Mitchell will play tournament host University of Saint Joseph in the consolation game on Saturday, November 19 at 1 p.m.