Women's Basketball Falls to SUNY Poly, 79-63

AURORA, N.Y. – Junior Lindsay Achzet (Johnstown, N.Y.) scored a team-best 18 points as the Wells College women's basketball team posted a 79-63 loss to the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Saturday at the Farenthold Athletic Wing. With the loss, Wells falls to 1-3 overall and to 0-2 within the North Eastern Athletic Conference. SUNY Poly evens their overall record at 2-2 while earning their first league win of the season.

Achzet picked up her first double-double dating back to Jan. 26, 2013 against the Wildcats, scoring 18 points and chipping in with 12 rebounds. Senior Kaitlynne Knapp (Port Byron, N.Y.) scored 11 points for the Express while junior Holli Erkson (Cooperstown, N.Y.) contributed 10 points. Senior Cassie Smythe (Eden, N.Y.) assisted a team-best six baskets for Wells.

Despite a halftime score of 37 aside, the real story was the hot shooting of SUNY Poly's Geena Gallo. The junior shot a blistering 16-for-22 from the floor, tallying 35 points in one of the most dominating performances by a visiting player in recent memory. In the second half alone, Gallo shot 10-for-14 and racked up 21 points as her teammates combined to shoot only 5-for-19 from the floor.

Trailing by 11 in the first half by a 25-14 margin at 8:57, Wells went on a 23-to-12 run to close out the opening stanza. During that stretch, Smythe hit two three-point baskets while freshman Yanna Ososkalo (Lyme, N.Y.) hit a key three to cut the score to within one. Fouled on the play, Ososkalo converted the extra shot to tie the game.  Wells took a game-high three point lead following Smythe's second "three" of the game.

Coming out of the half tied at 37, SUNY Poly went on a 20-to-13 run to take a 57-50 lead with 11:18 remaining in regulation time. From there, Wells scored the game's next five points to cut the score to 57-55, but the Wildcats took a commanding lead and scored 22 of the game's next 30 points to put the game out of reach. Following a Knapp layup at 9:17, Wells did not record another field goal until Achzet's layup at 2:17.

Erika Charbonneau scored 17 points of her own for SUNY Poly while Lauren Knowles registered 13 points. Molly MacLachlan hauled in nine rebounds, leading the team, while Emily Alicea assisted five of her team's 29 field goals.

Wells returns to action Sunday, Dec. 7 as they host SUNY Cobleskill at 12 p.m. in the Farenthold Athletic Wing.