Neary notches 1,000th career point in loss at Wellesley

(Courtesy of Wellesley Athletic Communications)

WELLESLEY, Mass. (Saturday, February 3, 2024) – Senior Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) tied a season-high 21 points to lead Wellesley College basketball to a 70-60 NEWMAC victory over Salve Regina at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Prior to the game Wellesley acknowledged Chae for her contributions to the Blue.

In addition to Chae, sophomore Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double for the Blue (8-11 Overall, 1-6 NEWMAC). First year Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) added 10 points and six assists.

Sophomore Sofia Neary (Wayne, N.J.) tied a season-high with 18 rebounds for the Seahawks (10-11 Overall, 4-3 NEWMAC). Senior Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) scored 11 points, including the 1000th point of her career. Briana becomes the 16th player in program history to reach the milestone and the second to get it on the Wellesley hardwood (Kaitlyn Birrell '13 got four second-half points in an ECAC postseason matchup to finish with 1,002 career points).

With 8:37 left in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks took the lead for the first time on a layup from sophomore Marissa Forino (Watertown, Conn.). Salve Regina led 45-43 at the 5:38 mark before a key three from Wellesley first year Mirella Funari (Phoenix, Ariz.) put the Blue up 46-45.

Chae scored four unanswered points to put the Blue up 50-45, and later nailed a triple to give Wellesley a 53-47 lead with 3:30 remaining in the game. The Seahawks got the game back to one possession at 57-54 with 1:51 left, before key free throws from Wellesley put the game out of reach.

Earlier, the Blue raced out to a 14-2 lead six minutes into the first quarter. Salve recovered with five points of its own but the Blue scored the final four points of an 18-7 opening frame. Barrow contributed eight points for Wellesley in the quarter.

The Seahawks cut the lead to five at the 6:05 mark in the second quarter. The teams traded buckets for the rest of the second quarter with the Blue up 31-26 at halftime.

After slowly chipping away in the third quarter, Salve Regina tied the game at 38-38 with just under four minutes left in the period. A jumper from Chae gave Wellesley its lead back, The Blue led 40-39 after three quarters of play, setting up the fourth quarter theatrics.

Wellesley went 23-for-61 (37.7%) from the field and limited Salve Regina to 20-for-67 (29.9%) shooting. Both teams snatched 47 rebounds and the Blue scored 14 fast break points.

The Blue host Wheaton at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7. The Seahawks face Springfield at home at the same time.

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