WBB Holds Off Newbury
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College women's basketball team
held off a strong second-half charge from Newbury College to pull
out a 62-51 victory on Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic
Center.
Mitchell (11-11 overall, 11-4 NECC) also clinched the third seed
for next week's NECC Championship and will host a quarterfinal game
on February 23. Four Mariners finished in double figures led by 16
points from freshman Kaylee Cerruto.
Shayla White led Newbury (8-13 overall, 6-9 NECC) with 17 points
while Jalisa Fields added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Mitchell never trailed in the contest and opened up a double-digit
lead behind a 13-4 run with 6:41 to go in the first half. The
Mariners held the Nighthawks to 27 percent shooting in the stanza
and led 30-20 at the intermission. Cerruto and senior Jennifer Iglesias
each had eight points by the break while White netted 11 of
Newbury's 20 points.
The Nighthawks wasted little time cutting into the deficit in the
second half, scoring 12 of the first 16 points to pull within two
at 34-32 with 13:43 to play. Newbury closed the margin to one on a
layup by Fields a few minutes later, but Mitchell countered with
six straight points to regain control.
Newbury made one final charge in the final six minutes, trimming a
nine-point deficit to three with 4:17 remaining. Mitchell, however,
turned up its defense over the final minutes and allowed only one
field goal in Newbury's final nine attempts from the floor.
The Mariners shot 32 percent for the contest and held a 32-22 edge
in points in the paint. Sophomore Destiney Harris
finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Iglesias added 14
points and six boards. Junior Alix O'Neil chipped in
with 11 points and five rebounds to round out Mitchell's double
figure scorers.
Newbury shot 30 percent from the floor and held a 53-50 edge on the
glass. Catherine O'Connell pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds and
contributed seven points.
Mitchell will wrap up regular season play at home against Becker
College on Saturday, February 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
