Salve Regina downs Wellesley, 53-42

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – It took Salve Regina (1-1) nearly four minutes to get on the scoreboard this afternoon versus Wellesley College (0-2) in a game played in Chandler Gym at Williams College, but the Seahawks were able overcome an early 6-0 deficit and go on to a 53-42 win.

Salve Regina got on the board at 3:49 on a jump shot from senior Allison Pigoga (Exeter, R.I.) and took its first lead at 7-6 when freshman Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) buried a 3-pointer from the left side, forcing Wellesley to call a timeout with 14:35 to play.

Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.) added two free throws to make it 9-6 with 13:30 left. The Seahawk run continued when Sarah Averill (Newfields, N.H.) dished to Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) on a fast break to boost the lead to 11-6. 

Courtney Jackson scored in the lane to stop the Seahawk run, however Salve Regina responded on its next possession with Del Valle scoring down low 13-8. Harden got loose down on the left side and laid the ball in to give Salve Regina a seven-point lead 15-8 with 10:22 left.

A three ball from the right corner by Kaitlyn Lendrum (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) put the Seahawks up 18-10, but the Blue's Jackson answered that. The Jackson three was matched by an Averill three from the left corner, giving Salve Regina a 21-13 lead with 7:15 left in the half.

Harden hit a deep two from the right corner to stop a Wellesley run and give Salve a four-point lead at 2:12. Pendergast hit a shot from the left side of the foul line and with 44 seconds left the Salve Regina lead was back to six, 25-19.

A Meghan Sargent lay-in opened the second half scoring and narrowed the Salve Regina lead to four. That Wellesley hoop was quickly answered by a Harden three from the right corner and Salve was back up seven. Del Valle scored on a put back off a miss by Harden and the Seahawks were back to an 8-point lead, 32-24, with 14:44 to play. Wellesley got a deep three from Malia Maier and the lead was down to five, 32-27. Harden then dished to Pigoga for a short jumper on the right baseline and the lead grew to 7, 34-27. On their next possession, the Seahawks extended their lead to 10, 37-27, when Averill hit a three from in front of her bench.

Pigoga's layup increased the Seahawks' lead to 12, 39-27. A Harden two and a long pass to Pendergast for an easy two gave Salve to its largest lead of the day, 43-28 with just under 8 minutes to play. Out of a timeout Wellesley went full court man-to-man pressure, but Salve Regina easily crossed mid-court and with time running down on the shot clock, Harden scored inside to return the lead to double figures, 51-41, with 84 seconds left. Harden tallied a game-high 18 points while Pigoga topped the Seahawks on the glass with seven rebounds. Pendergast and Jackson represented their respective teams on the Williams College All-Tip Off Tournament Team.

Salve Regina's next game is its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener at Endicott College on November 28.