FRANKLIN, Mass. – December 10, 2022 – The Dean College women's basketball team was edged by Johnson & Wales (JWU), 55-45, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest Saturday afternoon inside Pieri Gymnasium.
Dean (0-7, 0-3 GNAC) returns from break on Jan. 3 to host a GNAC game against Norwich at 5 p.m. JWU (2-5, 1-2 GNAC) will step out of conference on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. at Mount Holyoke.
Dean sophomore
Cat Thomas (Woodbridge, Conn.) led all players with 15 points on 6-8 shooting. She added seven rebounds and a couple of steals. Sophomore
Tori Andrewski (North Sutton, N.H.) posted her third-straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore
Tori Viau (Johnston, R.I.) also reached double figures with 10 points.
Senior Peyton Ryan (Nashua, N.H.) led the Wildcats with 13 points off the bench. Junior Sarah Wisniewski (Naugatuck, Conn.) scored 11, while junior Peyton Oliver (Ramsey, N.J.) chipped in with 10 points. Freshman Mikayla Caruso (Newton, N.J.) grabbed a game best 14 rebounds to go with seven points and five assists.
The Wildcats took a 7-2 lead, three minutes into the contest, after a Wisniewski jumper. A pair of Viau free throws pulled Dean within 11-8 at the 5:16 mark. The game went scoreless for more than three minutes before JWU closed the frame with an 8-2 run to lead 19-10 after 10 minutes. Oliver had six points and four boards for the visitors, while Viau had six points for Dean.
The Wildcats led 26-19 with 1:02 to play in the half before a pair of three-pointers from Ryan and Jennell Martin (Springfield, Mass.) made the margin 32-19 at the half. JWU made five buckets in the second, but three came from beyond the arc. Nine of JWU's 13 second quarter points came off the bench. Thomas had five points for Dean.
A Ryan three-pointer gave JWU its largest lead of the game at 42-21 with 2:35 left in the third quarter. Dean finished the frame with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 45-29 after 30 minutes. Dean made four baskets, while JWU made three, but the Wildcats shot 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
Dean chipped away at the JWU lead throughout the fourth, eventually pulling within six points, 49-43, but the Wildcats made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the 55-45 win. Dean outscored JWU 16-10 and shot 58.3% but could not complete the comeback.
