Women's Basketball Slips at Wheelock

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Led by Jaime Gryzch (Columbia, Conn.) with a game-high 15 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, the Wheelock women's basketball squad cruised to a 66-56 victory over conference rival Elms College on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 10-10 overall and 8-5 in the New England Collegiate Conference. The Blazers fall to 13-7, 11-2 in conference play.

Wheelock played strong right out of the gate, jumping to a 17-4 lead just under 12 minutes in. The Wildcats' first-half lead peaked at 17, with just under a minute on the clock as sophomore forward Michelle Woods (Wilmington, Mass.) sank a free-throw. A Gianna Youngblood (Lakeville, Mass.) layup and a pair of Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) free throws put a four-point dent in the Blazers' deficit before Katie Alsip (Quincy, Mass.) found the hoop and Wheelock entered halftime with a 34-19 cushion.

The start of the second stanza was all Wheelock again, as the Wildcats used a 12-4 run to build up to their largest lead of the day, 46-23, with 14:59 to go.

The Blazers, however, cut the deficit significantly to 11 in no time, after an impressive 15-1 run over a short 4:08 span. A Youngblood jumper at 6:47closed the gap to 53-45, the smallest of the second half, but that was as close as it would get for Elms.

The final four minutes of the contest were all about possession and free throws for the Wildcats, who went 9-12 from the line in that time frame.

The Blazers were paced by Youngblood and Marques, who scored 14 and 12 points, respectively while combining for 15 rebounds. Alsip finished the day with 14 points, 7 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals, while Woods added 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Also chipping in for the Wildcats was sophomore Kayla Corshia (Medway, Mass.), who tallied 9 points, 3 boards and a steal. Simone Ngongi (New Haven, Conn.) played well defensively, adding 3 to her blocks total while recording 6 points and 3 rebounds.

The Blazers return to the court Wednesday night hosting Lesley at Picknelly Arena for a 7:00 p.m. tip. Wheelock returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Mitchell College for a 6:00 p.m. conference matchup. Elms starts back up on the 11th as well, hosting Lesley at 7:00 p.m.