Five Reach Double-Digits In NEAC Win vs. Penn St.-Berks

READING, Pa. – Five members of the Wells College women's basketball team reached double-digit point totals en route to a convincing 84-54 victory over Penn St.-Berks on Thursday. Wells moves to 10-5 overall on the season and to 6-2 within league play. Penn St.-Berks falls to 1-11 overall and to 1-7 in the league.

The Express tied a program record with five student-athletes exceeding 10 points scored – the team last accomplished that feat on Jan. 4, 2013, coincidentally against the same team and within the same venue. Wells also went on a 19-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters, one of the longest uninterrupted stretches of scoring in team history.

Sophomore Kamarie Maturine (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded a double-double for the Express, collecting 18 points and a dominant 17 rebounds in the winning effort. Senior Holli Erkson (Cooperstown, N.Y.) poured home 18 points while junior Ashida Cooper (Bensalem, Pa.) struck for 16 points in only 15 minutes of action.

Freshman Vielka Barber (Holly Springs, N.C.) came off the bench to provide 13 points while senior Jasmine Thomas (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded a career-high 12 points and six assists, tying for the team-lead with three takeaways. Senior Lindsay Achzet (Johnstown, N.Y.) reeled in 11 rebounds for the Express on defense.

Both teams traded the lead on four separate occasions in the first quarter as Deanna Daddona's jumper with 29 seconds left in the opening stanza knotted the score at 14. To start the second, the Express pulled away from an 18-18 deadlock with a 6-0 run that was highlighted by a three-point basket from Erkson only 1:55 into the period.

Ahead by four near the midpoint of the second quarter, a layup by Barber started a 17-5 run by the Express that was concluded with a layup from Cooper with 2:17 left in the opening half, creating a 16-point lead for Wells.

Penn St.-Berks went on a seven-point run near the middle of the third quarter, but Wells put the game out of reach with a dominant 19-0 run that spanned 4:19 to create a 69-42 lead. The Express lead would eventually grow to a game-high 35 points, 84-49, with 80 seconds left in regulation time.

Daddona led Penn St.-Berks in point scoring, reaching 20 points after an 8-for-21 performance from the floor. Mackenzie Huber accounted for nine of her team's 33 rebounds while Shanelle Koch assisted six baskets.

Wells will travel to the campus of Lancaster Bible College on Friday, Jan. 22 for a 4 p.m. NEAC contest.