WORCESTER -- Salve Regina outscored WPI 23-7 in the second quarter to propel the visiting Seahawks to a 58-53 triumph over the host Engineers in a NEWMAC women's basketball contest played Wednesday night inside Harrington Auditorium.
With the result, Salve Regina moves to 9-6 on the season and 2-0 in conference play while WPI slips to 7-9 overall and 0-2 in NEWMAC action.
WPI stormed out of the gate quickly, with
Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) knocking down a corner 3-pointer just four seconds in en route to a 19-14 first quarter lead. The Engineers hot shooting from beyond the arc (5-of-9, 55.6%) set the tone early and limited Salve Regina to just one 3-pointer in the opening period. However, the Seahawks found their rhythm in the second quarter, sinking 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the field. Meanwhile, the Crimson and Gray connected on just 3-of-10 (30.0%) of their attempts. Salve Regina's offensive surge flipped the momentum, giving them an 11-point lead at halftime, 37-26. The Seahawks also capitalized on 12 WPI first half miscues to hold a 15-2 edge in points off turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Kelly paced the Engineers for the first half, contributing eight points and a steal.
Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) added six points and four rebounds.
Shannon Reno (Millbury, MA) and
Paige Davenport (Albany, NY) each tallied five points. For the Seahawks,
Sofia Neary (Rockaway, NJ) and
Briana Neary (Wayne, NJ) totaled 28 of Salve Regina's 37 first half points, 15 and 13 respectively. Additionally, Briana Neary grabbed three boards and Sofia Neary had two steals.
The visitors netted seven of the first 10 points of the second half to push the lead to 15 at 44-29 midway through the third quarter but the Engineers used balanced scoring to claw back into the contest with a 10-2 spurt to close out the stanza. Trailing by eight with two minutes to go, a jumper by
Megan Stone (Hanson, MA) and driving layup by Allyn on consecutive possessions got the hosts to within four points at 56-52 with under 90 seconds remaining. The teams traded empty possessions before
Amanda Folan (North Attleboro, MA) canned a pair of free throws with 14.5 seconds left to provide much needed insurance for the Seahawks.
The Neary sisters combined for 42 points with Sofia Neary leading all scorers with 22 point and Briana Neary tallying 20. The duo combined to shoot 15-of-29 from the field with Sofia Neary pacing Salve Regina with six rebounds and three blocks while Briana Neary was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line with four boards. Folan narrowly missed double figures in scoring to go along with five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Kelly highlighted three double digit scorers for the hosts with 14 points, while Allyn drained three trifectas on her way to 11 points and Stone finished with 10. The trio each corralled five rebounds while Reno doled out four assists.
Both squads return to action on Saturday to compete in NEWMAC action. WPI travels to MIT for a 3pm meeting while Salve Regina hosts Babson for a 1pm game.
Recap written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25
