SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Despite battling back from a double-digit deficit, the Mount Holyoke College basketball team was unable to overcome Southern Vermont College, falling by a 65-56 margin in non-conference action on Saturday. With the victory, the Mountaineers improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Lyons slip to 0-2.
Trailing by a 22-4 margin entering the second quarter, the Lyons began a solid comeback, as three three-pointers, along with four makes at the charity stripe for junior guard Katlyn Grover (Bernardston, Mass./Stoneleigh Burnham School) pulled the home team to within 28-19 with 5:49 to go in the frame.
A pair of shots from the free throw line by first year guard Brittany Fulton (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) pushed the edge to 32-19 for the visitors, but senior captain and guard Leah Hodges (New Haven, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) sank a pair of buckets to make it a 32-27 contest at the half.
In the third quarter, Mount Holyoke erased a four-point (34-30) lead for the Mountaineers as jumpers from sophomore Annika Brooks (Portland, Maine/Waynflete) and Grover tied the contest. Southern Vermont countered back as Fulton nailed a three and earned a key steal to feel the ball to junior guard Kyra Bruesewitz (Reno, Nev./Damonte Ranch) for a jumper and a 39-34 lead.
Sophomore Raquel Fitzpatrick (Providence, R.I./Providence Country Day School) sank a pair of shots from the free throw line to close the gap to two (40-38), but a Bruesewitz trey pushed the Mountaineers further ahead. A three-pointer from Grover, followed by a last second layup in the pair from first year Mikayla McEwen (South Hadley, Mass./Berkshire School) made it a 44-43 game heading into the final quarter.
Southern Vermont sank a pair of buckets to grab the lead, holding the Lyons off the scoreboard until the 6:35 mark on a jumper from Hodges. A 6-0 run for the visitors helped spark a lead that MHC could not come back from.
Leading the Mountaineers was Bruesewitz, who posted 20 points (5-13 from three-point) with four steals and a block. Senior guard Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt./Mount Anthony Union) added 12 points, also notching four steals and completing the double-double with 10 boards.
For Mount Holyoke, Grover recorded a season-high 25 points, including a 5-9 effort from three point range. She also had four rebounds and was a perfect 4-4 at the line. Hodges added 12 points with nine rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Brooks notched a career-high 16 rebounds to go with three steals, five assists and nine total points.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Worcester State for a 7pm match against the Lancers. Southern Vermont hits the court once again next Friday when it travels to Ramapo College to take on St. Joseph's Brooklyn at 5:30pm in the Ramapo Tip-Off Tournament.