Hunt’s Buzzer-beater Lifts Bay Path Over Wheelock

Stunned. That’s the only word to describe the Wheelock College bench and crowd Saturday afternoon when Bay Path College junior forward Jessica Hunt of Madison, CT found nothing-but-net on a half-court shot that lifted her team to a dramatic 69-67 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) win over Wheelock at Pine Manor College.

It looked as though Wheelock would survive the rally when freshman Caitlin Kerr of Hartford, CT hit a free-throw with 2.2 seconds remaining to give her team a 67-66 advantage. Bay Path wasted no time in getting the ball to Hunt, who squared up and launched the perfect shot.

Hunt, who ranks second in NECC scoring (19.1ppg) and first in rebounding (13.0), steals (3.5), and blocked shots (4.0), literally put the team on her shoulders, scoring 16 of her game-high 35 points in the last four minutes of the game as part of a 20-1 Bay Path run that resulted in the team’s first win in the newly formed NECC. Hunt also led all rebounding with 21, the second straight game she has netted at least 20 boards.

The game looked like it belonged to Wheelock when junior Sharrell Brown of Brooklyn, NY knocked in a three to give her team a 16 point advantage with 3:09 remaining. But Wheelock went on to turn the ball over six times to set up the dramatic finish from Bay Path.

Wheelock owned the game for the first half and most of the second, led by the hot shooting of Joy Holliday of Milford, MA, who was 8-12 from the field and 2-3 from behind the arc. The sophomore guard scored a game and season-high 18 points. Wheelock shot 44 percent from the field in the first half to take an eight point lead into the locker room.

Junior Sarah Brown turned in a double-double for Wheelock with 11 points and ten boards while Sharrell Brown was also in double-digits with 10 points. Also in double-digits for Bay Path was sophomore Kaitlin Begin of Weare, NH with 20 and junior Christina Calabrese of Hamilton, NJ with 10.