NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida overcame a seven point halftime deficit to force a tie nearly five minutes into the second half, but the Wildcats made five three-pointers in the second half and pulled away for a 72-57 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball action on Thursday night at Mount Ida College Athletic Center.
With the game tied at 37, the Wildcats ripped off a 13-4 run, capped by back to back three-pointers by Savannah Kresge (Ellington, Conn.) to take a nine point lead on the way to evening their GNAC record at 3-3 (11-9 overall).
Freshman Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.) made six straight free throws down the stretch to preserve the win for the Wildcats and finished with a game-high 21 points, including a 5-8 performance from behind the three-point line.
Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.) continued her streak of double-double performances with 16 points and the same number of rebounds. The Mount Ida sophomore center has now registered seven straight double-doubles and just turned in her tenth consecutive double-digit rebounding performance.
The Wildcats jumped in front 7-0 before Martinez's layup put the Mustangs on the board nearly four minutes into the game. Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.), who turned in a 13-point performance, made a jump shot to up the JWU lead to 10-4 but back to back triples, by Mount Ida's Shanell Nardone (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Katlyn Jesse (Marshfield, Mass.) tied the game at ten apiece.
Jesse finished the game with 14 points and Nardone turned in a team-high five assists for Mount Ida, but her efforts were outdone by Pederzani, who posted seven dimes and had four steals for JWU.
Pederzani and Kresge, who scored 11 points on 3-4 shooting from downtown, each hit three-pointers as the Wildcats scored the next nine points to reclaim a 19-10 lead.
The lead reached 13 with another layup by Thompson, but Imani Bumpus (W. Hartford, Conn.) hit a three-pointer on the way to an eight point, 12 rebound night. Martinez kept the JWU lead at ten points with a three-point play, and the Mustangs trimmed the deficit to seven points by halftime.
They quickly tied the game at 34 with a three-pointer and a layup by Stephanie Champoux (Tewksbury, Mass.) and then a layup by Martinez with two minutes gone in the second half. The game stayed tied at 37 after Pederzani and Jesse traded three-pointers.
JWU took the lead again for good with a free throw and then a layup by senior Kaitlin Kenney (Branford, Conn.). Nardone kept the lead to a point with a layup, but then Pederzani stroked a three-pointer to start the Wildcats run that ended with Kresge finding her mark twice from deep.
Mount Ida could get within seven, but the visitors got their lead up to 15 points with another three-pointer by Pederzani with 5:27 left.
Johnson & Wales out-rebounded the Mustangs 53-37, led by 16 rebounds apiece from Bobbie Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Kimberly Viafara (Woodside, N.Y.).
Kristen Habbel (Phoenixville, Pa.) added five assists and two steals for the Wildcats, who shot 45% from downtown and 37.1% from the field.
Champoux ended the night with eight points and two steals for Mount Ida, who fired at a 30.5% clip from the floor (18-59).
Mount Ida (6-15, 0-7 GNAC) has just one home game remaining this season, but it will have to wait until after a pair of away contests, starting on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Emmanuel for a 3:00 pm tip-off.
Johnson & Wales will be back in Newton on Saturday when they travel to Lasell for a 2:00 pm start.