BOSTON, Mass. -- The Wheelock College women's basketball team used a 16 point, 17 rebound double-double from sophomore Katie Walsh (East Islip, N.Y.) to rally past the visiting Falons of Fisher College, 61-57 this evening at Winsor Court.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 3-6 overall, while Fisher slips to 3-7.
Wheelock deposited the first six points of the game, but back-to-back Fisher three pointers combined with a Skylar Robinson (Atlanta, Ga.) layup would quickly put the visitors on top, 8-6. The teams exchanged a pair of field goals but Wheelock regained the advantage when Walsh and senior Emily Doyle (Lynn, Mass.) combined for the next five points.
Jameela Olivo (Hyde Park, Mass.) closed the gap to 12-13 with a jumper before an 11-0 run would give Wheelock their largest lead of the night, 12, with 6:11 left in the first half.
The halftime margin slimmed down considerably to four though, thanks to the nine consecutive Madison Carroll (Methuen, Mass.) and Murphy Carroll (Methuen, Mass.) points that helped the Falcons' cause.
Robinson brought her squad even closer to the hosts after sinking another three at the 3:47 mark of the half, but Michelle Woods (Wilmington, Mass.) prevented a possible equalizer on the next play with a layup to lift the score to 33-28.
A Christine Briggs (Rumford, Maine) jumper tightened things up to the smallest of deficits, 40-41, but Woods stepped in once more and sank four free throws to go back up by five. With three ticks left in the third, Murphy Carroll hit a three that would update the tally to 45-43 as the teams headed into the fourth period.
Fisher finally caught up with the hosts with 6:09 in regulation, tying things up at 51 with an Aliyanah Macintosh (Brooklyn, N.Y.) basket from three-point range. Macintosh found the net again less than two minutes later and suddenly the Falcons were in the lead, 53-51. The Wildcats regained their lead with 3:07 to go and never looked back, as they went on to post seven points to the Falcons' three to come away with their third win of the season.
Wheelock was also led by Woods, who led all players with 21 points. Robinson led the way for Fisher with 14 points, while Murphy Carroll chipped in with 12.
The Wildcats will resume their schedule after the holiday break when they travel to Elms College on Saturday, January 7. Fisher plays next on January 7 as well when they host New Rochelle at 1:00 p.m.