Box Score
WENHAM, Mass.—A gutsy second-half effort wasn't enough to overcome a halftime deficit, as the Gordon Women's Basketball team fell to visiting Western New England 59-47 in front of the home crowd. Junior Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) helped the Scots gnaw their way back after trailing by 12 points at the break, but Western New England scored nine of the final 11 points of the game to take the season series between the two schools.
The Golden Bears dominated the statsheet in the first half, rolling out to a 20-8 advantage over the first 12 minutes of the game. Katie Eckert (Lee, Mass.) opened the half by scoring eight points, as Western New England built up its double-digit lead.
Western New England extended their lead to 15 points with less than two minutes to play in the half, but made free throws by Kratche and Fredi Nielsen (Bridgeport, Conn.) closed to gap to 29-17 as the two teams headed towards the locker rooms.
Kratche took over the early part of the second half, scoring baskets on three consecutive possessions to cut the Golden Bears' lead to eight. The Golden Bears responded to Kratche with a 9-1 run of their own to stretch their lead to a game-high 16 points.
Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) kick-started a 15-4 Gordon run by draining a wide-open three pointer from the extended wing. Nielsen and Kratche got in on the scoring parade to aid the Scots' attempted comeback, trimming the Golden Bears' lead 44-39 with nine minutes to play.
The two schools went back and forth for the next six minutes of gameplay, but the Scots were never able to get within five points. After going down eight points late in the period, Bareford hit another deep triple to bring the Fighting Scots within five at 50-45. WNE's Samantha McCann (Warren, Mass.) and Nielsen traded buckets to make it a 52-47 with 1:19 remaining.
Western New England made seven free throws in the final minute, while the Scots were unable to add to their final total. The Golden Bears improved to 5-8 in conference play, while the Gordon fell to 1-12 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
Eckert paced the Golden Bears with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals in 29 minutes. Nicole Daly (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) totaled 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Chelsea Vujs (Berlin, Conn.) and McCann finished with nine and eight points respectively. The Golden Bears shot 42.3% from the field, but struggled from deep, making only one of their 11 attempts behind the arch.
Kratche led all scorers with 21 points, while also corralling nine rebounds in 37 minutes. Nielsen and Bareford both finished with 10 points, while Kranyak rounded out the scoring with six. The Scots shot an impressive 41.7% from the floor, but only Bareford was able to knock down shots from deep.
Gordon will look to get back on track when they travel to Milton, Mass. for a 1 p.m. start at Curry on Saturday afternoon.
