PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Mount Ida College women's basketball team suffered their second straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) defeat of the season falling to the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday evening by a final score of 79-52.

A 16-4 run to close the first quarter was all the separation the Johnson & Wales University women's basketball team needed Tuesday night against Mount Ida. From there, the Wildcats cruised to a 79-52 victory as they won their sixth-straight game.

Mount Ida was led offensively by Angie Martinez (Taunton, Mass.) who fell just shy of another double double, scoring 22 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Teammate Kaitlyn Jesse (Marshfield, Mass.) was second in scoring for the Mustangs in the GNAC tilt with 18 points and four rebounds.

Records

Johnson & Wales: 13-1, 3-0 GNAC
Mount Ida: 2-12, 0-2 GNAC

The Lead

The Mustangs, still in search of their first GNAC win of the season, were outshot 49.2%-to-40.8% in what was one of Johnson and Wales' best shooting games of the season. After sluggish shooting the last few games, the Wildcats found their rhythm offensively, in what turned out to be they're best shooting performance since shooting better than 45.0% against Brandeis on December 5th.

Of Note

Setting up the Wildcats' offense was their effort of the defensive end of the floor. Johnson & Wales forced Mount Ida into 22 turnovers. Those miscues resulted in 33 JWU points, including 16 on the fast break.

By contrast, the Mustangs only had eight points off JWU errors and two fast break points. The Wildcats were also able to get the ball into the post as they produced 34 points in the paint.

The beneficiary of most of those points in the paint for the Wildcats was center Ashley Thompson (Bellingham, Mass.) as she poured in a game-high 22 points, going 11-of-19 from the floor. It's her ninth-straight double-digit game and her highest total since tallying 22 against Curry (December 12).

After a Martinez jumper put MIC up 10-9 at the 5:40 mark of the first quarter, Thompson scored three-straight baskets to start the 16-4 JWU run. Another Martinez jumper got the Mustangs within six, 31-25, in the second quarter, but that's as close as the game would be the rest of the way. Out of the break, Johnson & Wales sealed the victory by limiting Mount Ida to just eight points in the third quarter.

Joining Thompson in double figures was guard Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, RI) as she added 13 points and five assists. Senior Savannah Kresge (Ellington, Conn.) came off the bench to score a baker's dozen, including a trio of three pointers. Forward Bobbie Whitehead (Brooklyn, NY) led all players with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Freshman Galina Gruder (Woodstock, Conn) played a season-high seven minutes. She made the most of her time by grabbing four rebounds, good for second on the team, and scoring just the second basket of her collegiate career.

Tying Thompson with a game-high 22 points was the Mustangs' Martinez. She nearly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Katyln Jesse added 18 points as the duo accounted for 77 percent of Mount Ida's scoring.

Up Next

Mount Ida will travel to Connecticut on Saturday afternoon when they play part in a doubleheader at Albertus Magnus with tipoff set for 1:00 PM. Johnson & Wales is on the road Saturday when it travels to St. Joseph's (CT) for a 1 p.m. tip.