WBB's Comeback Falls Short at Fisher

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- The Mitchell College women's basketball team saw its fourth-quarter rally come up just short at Fisher College on Thursday night, falling 76-74 in non-conference action at Pappas Gymnasium.

The Mariners trailed by double digits heading into the final stanza but nearly made up the difference, outscoring the Falcons by a 22-13 margin in the fourth. Down by two with the final possession of the game, Mitchell went to Amina Wiley for the last shot, but Fisher came up with a block on the defensive end to seal the victory.

Wiley finished with a game-high 23 points on 11-for-19 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds while blocking two shots. Dede Stevenson added 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Sam McKenna netted 12 points while making her first start of the season.

Mitchell got off to a good start and led 13-8 by the midpoint of the opening quarter. However, the offense ground to a halt in the final 5:45 of the period, as Yasmine Santos supplied the only field goal to give the visitors a slim 16-15 edge heading into the second. 

Fisher pulled in front in the second quarter as the Mariners' shooting struggles continued. Mitchell didn't knock down a shot until the final two minutes of the half, but mitigated the damage by ending the period on a 9-2 run. The spurt--fueled by threes from Stevenson, McKenna and Alexia Watson--left the Mariners trailing 35-30 at the break.

Mitchell lost ground in the third quarter as Fisher stretched the margin to as many as 13. The Mariners trailed 63-52 heading into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, the Mariners used an 8-0 run to pull within three at 67-64 with 6:00 to go. Jermia Dumas scored all four of her points during the stretch as Mitchell closed in on the hosts.

The Falcons bumped the lead back to seven before the Mariners made another push in the final minutes. Wiley provided three straight buckets before McKenna buried a three to make it a 75-73 game with 1:21 to play. The score stayed the same until Wiley grabbed a rebound with 30 seconds remaining to give Mitchell a shot at the lead or the tie. After McKenna missed a layup, Wiley pulled down a big offensive board and was fouled. She then made one of two at the line to cut the deficit to one.

Mitchell fouled Fisher's Tatiana Bruno with eight seconds left, and she also made one of two from the stripe to make it a 76-74 game. The Mariners called timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, and on their final play they got the ball to Wiley in the post. She squared up for a baseline jumper but was rejected by Madison Kelley as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Misha O'Neal paced the Falcons (3-10 overall) with 23 points, one of three Fisher starters in double figures.

On a historical note, Wiley became Mitchell's all-time leading rebounder with 813 for her career. She surpassed Amanda Garcia '16, who grabbed 811 career boards in 103 games.

Mitchell (7-8 overall) will next play at Lesley University on Wednesday, January 26 at 7 p.m.