Mount Ida College women's basketball senior Nicole Casimiro (Lee, NH/Oyster River) netted a team high 16 points en route to a 57-51 non-conference victory over Wheelock College this past Monday night in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Mustangs improve to an even .500 at 7-7 and stay at 0-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Wildcats remain winless at 0-9 still searching for their first victory of the season.
Wheelock began the night with a 9-0 run, including a pair of triples from senior Sarah Brown (Plainville, MA) as the Wildcat defense held Mount Ida off the scoreboard until the 14:51 mark in the first half. The Mustangs answered with a 10-1 run over the next five minutes to get the score to 13-13 for the first of seven lead changes on the night.
The Mustangs rode the hot hand of Casimiro, who scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half, including a three-pointer that tied the game at 44-44 with 8:01 remaining in regulation. Casimiro followed that up two minutes later with a fast break lay-up off of a Wheelock turnover to put Mount Ida up by a bucket. The Mustangs went on to score seven unanswered points in the final four minutes of play.
Wheelock climbed to within three on a pair of Kerry Casey (Medford, Mass.) free throws with 3:14 remaining, but that was as close as the Wildcats would get for the remainder of the game. Wheelock senior Brown scored a season and game-high 17 points and fellow captain Elise Ordile (Waltham, Mass.) netted a double-double.
Mount Ida's bench provided plenty of support for head coach Jack Casey, scoring 21 points combined for the evening. Jeileen Rivera (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) was a star all around for Mount Ida, nabbing seven steals, scoring ten points, and adding six rebounds and four assists.
The Wildcats out-rebounded the Mustangs 39-32, thanks in part to a ten rebound night from both Ordile and freshman Keneisha Milton (Boston, Mass.). Wheelock was able to convert 16 offensive boards into 15 second chance points.
The Mustangs will travel to Albertus Magnus College this Thursday night starting at 5:00 p.m. for their second GNAC contest of the year.