Posted: Dec 10, 2011

Orr Free Throws Lift Bay Path to A Win over the Wheelock Wildcats

CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Freshman guard Je'Quana Orr (East Hartford, CT) converted three free throws to provide the Bay Path College women's basketball team the difference in a 45-43 victory over host Wheelock College in a New England Collegiate Conference contest this afternoon at Brunelli Court on the campus of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, MA. Bay Path improves to 1-4 overall and 1-0 in NECC play, while Wheelock falls to 0-8 and 0-2.

Wheelock senior center Jo Gomes (Boston, MA/Newton Country Day School) made the back end of two free throws to give the home team a 43-42 edge with five seconds left in the contest, before Bay Path inbounded the ball from under their own basket and Orr dribbled the ball to midcourt where she launched a half court shot and was fouled in the act of shooting with 1.5 seconds to go in the game, resulting in three free throws.

Bay Path owned a 30-23 advantage with 17:45 to play in the second stanza, before Wheelock went on a 9-1 burst, paced by six points from junior forward Keneisha Milton (Boston, MA/Wayland HS), to take a 32-31 edge with 13:16 showing in the second half. The teams traded the lead four times over the next eight minutes before Wheelock settled in with a 38-35 margin, following a jumper from sophomore guard Jessica Ramsey (Milford, MA) at the 5:21 mark of the second session. Wheelock later owned a 39-37 lead with 3:54 to go, but Bay Path scored five unanswered points, including a three-pointer from sophomore guard Mercedes Griffith (Malden, MA), to take a 42-39 lead with 1:52 to play in the game. Wheelock responded with a layup from senior forward Kayla Drescher (Wallingford, CT) and a single free throw from Gomes to knot the score at 42-42 with 32 ticks left on the clock.

The teams played within four points of each other for the first 14 minutes of the contest and Wheelock owned a 14-13 edge with 6:31 to play in the opening half, but Bay Path scored the next five points to take an 18-14 margin with 5:39 showing in the first half. Ramsey canned a three-pointer to pull Wheelock to within a point, but the visitors closed out the half with an 11-4 stretch, paced by seven of sophomore guard Justine Hook's (Berwick, PA) game-high 21 points, to take a 29-21 halftime advantage.

Orr finished with six points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot for Bay Path, while Hook was good on five of eight three-point tries in addition to pulling down 12 rebounds for a double-double and adding two assists and a steal. Junior guard Brittney Alexander (Enfield, CT) chipped in with nine points, six boards, a game-high seven steals and two assists.

Milton ripped down a school-record 24 rebounds as part of a team school-record 66 rebounds for Wheelock and added 13 points, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot. Ramsey finished with 11 points, two rebounds and an assist off the bench. Drescher was also big on the boards with a career-best 16 rebounds and scored eight points, matched her school record with five blocks, came up with a pair of steals and handed out an assist, while Gomes grabbed a career-high 12 boards and added three points, an assist and a steal.

Bay Path returns to the court to host Elms College on January 7 at 1:00 p.m.