Members of the Westfield State and Mount Holyoke teams meet at midcourt prior to their game in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Junior center Gabby Felix (16 points, 8 rebounds) and sophomore guard Keri Doldoorian (16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) led the Westfield State University women’s basketball team to a 65-57 victory over Mount Holyoke College in the San Juan Shootout on Tuesday.
The Owls (5-5) never trailed but they could not pull away from the Lyons (3-6). Westfield jumped out to an early 17-8 lead and led by 24-10 with 7:33 remaining in the first half. Westfield took its biggest lead, 31-16, at the 2:36 mark but Mount Holyoke scored six straight points to trail at halftime, 31-22.
The Lyons pulled to within seven, 33-26, early in the second half, but the Owls went on a 9-2 run over the next several minutes, capped by a Doldoorian jumper, for a 42-28 lead at the 15:17 mark.
Kate Karraker canned two consecutive 3-point baskets to pull Mount Holyoke within seven points, 53-46, with 6:17 remaining. A Felix layup gave Westfield a 10-point lead, 59-49, but Mount Holyoke’s Amber Legare converted a conventional 3-point play to make it 59-52 with 3:45 remaining.
Mount Holyoke twice sliced Westfield’s lead to six points, including a Karraker layup that made it 61-55 with 1:13 remaining. A layup by Forbasaw Nkamebo and a Doldoorian free throw clinched the Owls’ hard-earned victory.
Both teams were cold from the field with Westfield shooting 33 percent (24-73) and Mount Holyoke 37 percent (23-61). In addition, Westfield made 4 of 17 3-point attempts and Mount Holyoke 2 of 16 from beyond the arc.
The Owls did shoot well from the foul line, canning 13 of 15 free throws. Mount Holyoke was 9 for 20 from the charity stripe.
Karraker tied Felix and Doldoorian for game-high scoring honors with 16 points. Legare posted the game’s only double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Junior guard Jen Ashton had 10 points, five assists and three steals for the Owls. Nkamebo contributed six points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Junior reserve guard Brianna Lowry tallied eight points.
