Mount Ida College women's basketball junior transfer Shannon Wood (Gorham, ME/Bryant University) iced the Mustangs first victory of the season hitting the final six free throws of the contest in a tight battle pulling out a 67-60 victory over visiting Becker College in a non-conference bid Tuesday night in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs improve to and overall record of 1-4 while the visitors fall to 1-4 on the season; neither team has yet to play a conference match-up.
Mount Ida played physical under the basket for the entire contest outrebounding the Hawks offensively (23-12) giving themselves opportunities for second chance points. The Mustangs started strong taking a 6-2 lead in the opening of the first half after a success lay-in by freshman Alicia Ward (North Reading, MA/North Reading).
The score knotted up three times within the next three minutes with the Mustangs holding a four point lead followed by two good free throws by junior Amanda Bolio (Oxford, MA/Oxford) at the 12:39 mark.
It remained close with no more than three points separating the teams throughout the tail end of the first stanza. The visitors eventually took their first lead of the contest after two successful shots from the charity stripe by sophomore center Nicole Morse (Alton, NH/New Hampton) leading 25-22 with 4:53 to go before the break.
Two more good free throws by Morse followed by a lay-in from freshman Haley Ooms (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) gave the Hawks their biggest advantage of the half up five (27-22) with 4:28 remaining in the half.
The Mustangs attempted a small comeback in the final minutes of the stanza, but after a couple of costly fouls the hosts found themselves trailing by five (34-29) heading into the locker room with Hawk freshman Chelsea Joubert (Westborough, MA/Assabet Valley) draining the final two free throws. The visitors converted 10 of their 34 first half points off Mustang turnovers paired with 13 Mount Ida fouls giving the Hawks 14 more points going 14-17 from the charity stripe for the half.
The five point advantage for the visitors was short lived while Becker watched the Mustangs tear up a 9-0 run to start the second stanza taking a six point advantage (40-34) in the opening five minutes finished off by a jumper by freshman Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, CT/New Fairfield).
Mount Ida maintained their lead through the next five minutes building a game high seven point advantage (49-42) after a splashed trifecta by junior guard Jeileen Rivera (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) at the 10:32 mark.
The visitors cut the Mustang lead to a deuce (53-51) with a little under seven minutes to play after two good free throws by Joubert. Mount Ida went back up by five (56-51) immediately following after a lay-in by sophomore Kayla Musty (Topsham, CT/Oxbow) with 6:14 to go.
The Mustangs kept battling but could not ward off their opposition far enough while the Hawks cut the Mount Ida lead two one point three times down the stretch. With 1:14 to go, the visitors trailed by one (61-60) for the final time after a successful lay-in by Morse.
This is where Wood started to ice the game connecting on two free throws after being fouled by Joubert to take a three point lead (63-60) with a minute to go.
Another missed opportunity by the Hawks on the ensuing possession put the ball in the hands of Wood who was fouled heading to the line again finishing with two more successful attempts. This scene would repeat one more time to end the non-conference bid with the Mustangs proving victorious, 67-60, for their first win of the season.
Mount Ida was led by Wood with a team high 15 points adding five boards and three assists. Rivera added eight points and 11 rebounds, her second consecutive game with double digit boards, along with a team high four dishes. Junior Jenny Davis (Bristol, England/Filton College) was the second highest scorer for the Mustangs chipping in 10 buckets with four boards. Ward, Fedigan, and Bolio all added eight points apiece respectively.
The Hawks were led by Joubert with a game high 16 points and three assists. Morse added 12 points and nine boards and a game high four blocks while senior Heidi Miller (Sanbornton, NH/Winnisquam) chipped in 13 points and five boards.
The Mustangs will stay home and host Wentworth Institute of Technology this Saturday with tip-off slated for 1:00 p.m.