Saturday, December 3, 2011 (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts) - Behind a team-high 18 points from senior captain Shannon Wood (Gorham, ME/Catherine McAuley/Bryant University); the Mount Ida College women's basketball team captured their fourth straight victory at non-league Wheelock College Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts winning by a score of 90-49.
Wood and the Mustangs improve to an overall record of 4-3 while the hosting Wildcats are still searching for their first victory at 0-5 for the year.
Mount Ida shot 53.8% (35-65) from the floor and committed just 10 turnovers in the victory. Along with a solid performance from Wood, junior transfer Evebonee Acosta (Hartford, CT/Bulkeley/Gold-Beacom College) and sophomore forward Missy Collins (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford) notched 17 points each. Wood was impressive the entire day going 7-10 from the floor and was near perfect from downtown going 4-5. Senior guard Jeileen Rivera (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) led all playmakers with five assists in addition to scoring seven points, grabbing two rebounds and making three steals in 20 minutes of action.
The Mustangs owned a 7-6 edge with 16:14 to play in the first half, before scoring nine unanswered points to take a 16-6 lead with 12:50 remaining in the opening half. Mount Ida later maintained a 22-12 margin with 10:11 showing on the first half clock, before Wheelock closed to within 22-19 at the 6:31 mark, paced by five points from sophomore guard Jessica Ramsey (Milton, MA/Milton). It would be as close as the Wildcats would get as the Mustangs scored 25 of the next 27 points, including 15 straight to close out the half, fueled by eight points from Acosta, to take a commanding 47-21 halftime lead.
Mount Ida picked up where they left off in the second half, scoring the first 10 points of the second half to take a 57-21 advantage with 16:44 to play in the second stanza, before Wildcats junior forward Keneisha Milton (Boston, MA/Wayland) made a layup and followed with a free throw at 16:28. The Mustangs later maintained a 67-30 margin, but five consecutive points from Ramsey pulled Wheelock to within 67-35 with 11:53 remaining in the contest. Mount Ida later owned a 73-42 margin with 9:04 to play, before going on a 15-4 run to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 88-46 with 3:32 showing in the second session.
The Mustangs will travel to non-conference UMASS-Boston Tuesday evening in South Boston, Massachusetts with game time slated for 5:30 p.m.