Box Score Hartford, Conn. – Senior forwards Hannah Brickley
(Melrose, Mass.) and Shantel Hanniford
(Nantucket, Mass.) combined for 34 points, 17 rebounds, seven
assist and five steals to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a
64-61 victory over the visiting Wesleyan University Cardinals in
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's
basketball action this evening at Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity
improves to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the NESCAC with its second win
in a row, while the Cardinals fall to 12-8 overall and 3-4 in the
league with their second loss in a row.
Wesleyan got off to a 9-4 lead 3:36 into the
game after five straight points by senior tri-captain guard
KellyAnn Rooney (Guilford, Conn.), but Trinity scored eight of the
next 10 points to pull back ahead, 12-11, on two Brickley free
throws. The Cardinals took their last lead, 15-14, just
before the midpoint of the first half on a jumper by sophomore
forward Kaylie Williams (Danville, Calif.), but Hanniford answered
with a pair from the charity stripe and the Bantams never trailed
again. Two more Hanniford foul shots gave Trinity a 36-31
advantage with 46 seconds left before halftime, but Williams made
two free throws and Cardinal senior tri-captain guard Jenna Klaes
(Amherst, Mass.) stole the ensuing inbounds pass and scored a layup
as the horn sounded for a 36-235 count at the break in the home
team's favor. Hanniford had 12 points and Brickley had 10 at
halftime, while Rooney paced Wesleyan, which shot 55 percent from
the field in the first half, with 12 points. The teams
combined for 23 first-half turnovers, and Trinity held a 16-to-11
edge on the glass.
Trinity scored the first six points of the
second stanza and led, 41-35, after a jumper by senior Taylor Murtaugh
(Bronx, N.Y.) at the 17:10 mark. A put-back by Cardinal
junior guard Miller Hartsoe (Glen Gardner, N.J.) tied the game,
49-49, at the nine-minute mark, but Trinity used a 9-1 run to pull
back ahead, 58-50, on another outside shot by Murtaugh with 4:44 on
the clock. Wesleyan continued to battle and Trinity clung to
a 62-59 lead inside the final minute after two foul shots by
sophomore guard Jackie Browne (Voorhees, N.J.). After
Wesleyan missed its next two free throws, and the Bantams hit iron
on the front end of a one-an-one situation, Williams drove for a
hoop to bring Wesleyan to within a point at 62-61. Bantam
senior guard Abby Hancock (Casco, Maine) calmly hit both of her
free throws with eight seconds left and the Trinity defense held
Wesleyan to a long three-point attempt to tie that fell way
short.
Brickley finished with team-highs of 18
points and 10 boards to go with four assists, while Hanniford made
six of nine shots from the field and four of five free throws for
16 points and added seven rebounds, three assists, and three
steals. Trinity senior guard Moriah Sweeney
(Ramsey, N.J.) grabbed eight rebounds, and Hancock totaled eight
points and a game-high six assists. Rooney paced Wesleyan
with 18 points, while Klaes had 15 points and three steals, junior
forward Cherkira Lashley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high
seven rebounds, and Williams contributed nine points, six rebounds,
and four steals. Trinity finished with a 37-30 rebounding
advantage, held the Cardinals to 30.8 percent field-goal shooting
after halftime, and forced 20 turnovers. Wesleyan stayed in
the game by sinking 19 of 25 free throws.