SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Senior Alex Twomey and junior Sofia Francisco both had double-doubles and first-year Justine Dessureault added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench as the Mount Holyoke basketball team defeated Holyoke Community College 66-47 on Saturday in Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium, in the first-ever regular season game between the teams.
The host Lyons (3-10) outrebounded the visiting Cougars (7-5) 61-36 and scored 10 more points at the free throw line (15-5) to key the win. Mount Holyoke's .354 field goal percentage was its second best of the season, and the Lyons tied their season high with five 3-pointers in the game.
Mount Holyoke also exhibited excellent ball movement, racking up 18 assists on 23 made field goals.
Twomey (Nutley, N.J.) paced the Lyons with 14 points on 4-7 shooting, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Francisco (Boston, Mass.) had 11 points on 5-7 shooting with 13 rebounds -- Francisco's fifth straight game with double-digit rebounds and her fourth double-double of the season. Francisco ranks second in the NEWMAC in rebounding (13.0 per game) and first in blocked shots (2.6).
The 5-foot-5 Twomey notched her third double-double of the year and raised her impressive all-around season averages to 11.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.9 steals per game. She ranks 10th in the NEWMAC in rebounding, second in steals, 10th in assists, and 20th in scoring.
Dessureault made a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play as she continued her strong play of late. Over the past four games, Dessureault has contributed 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest.
For HCC, point guard Johanys Andrades had game-highs of 18 points, five assists and four steals. Mileidy Rosado had nine points and Annastacia Dixon added eight points off the bench.
Defense ruled the game's first quarter, with the Cougars hoisting 20 shots but making only three as Mount Holyoke took an 11-6 lead through the first 10 minutes.
HCC came alive in the second quarter, with Andrades setting up four buckets as five different Cougars scored, combining to shoot 8-16 as they tied the Lyons 17-17 in the period. First-years Dessureault and Erica Yokota (Tokyo, Japan) combined for 13 points to buoy the Lyons as they took a 28-23 lead at the half.
Mount Holyoke accelerated its offense in the second half, scoring 19 points in the third and fourth quarters. First-year Anju Manfred (Osaka, Japan) scored six of her seven points in the game in the third quarter as the Lyons had six assists on six field goals. In the fourth quarter, junior Emma Zoubok (Somers, N.Y.) nailed a pair of threes and Twomey added six points as Mount Holyoke expanded its lead from nine (47-38) to a game-high 23 (65-42) before the final score settled at 66-47.
Mount Holyoke will host Bard College on Tuesday at 12pm; HCC will host the Community College of Rhode Island on Thursday at 5:30pm.
