WildCats take Battle Over Lady AMCATS

PAXTON, Mass. – Led by Jenna Juron's (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) game high 24 points, the Johnson and Wales University women's basketball team defeated Anna Maria College 58-48 at The Fuller Activities Center in GNAC action on Saturday afternoon. The win improves the Wildcats to 6-9 (2-1 GNAC), while the loss drops the AMCATS to 5-9 (1-2 GNAC) on the season.

Alison McCarthy (Lynn, Mass.) and Samantha Ashton (Worcester, Mass.) paced the Anna Maria offense with 12 and 11 points respectively. McCarthy scored all of her points on 4-of-8 shooting beyond the arc while Ashton also added six rebounds and a pair of steals.

The first-half was an even battle as both teams struggled to gain momentum. The biggest lead of the frame was five points by the AMCATS, as Anna Maria went on a mini 9-2 run propelled by two 3 point field-goals by McCarthy and another trey by Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.). Despite the early advantage, Johnson and Wales erased the deficit and took a 23-21 advantage into intermission.

McCarthy, Pryor and Liz Sama (Windsor, Conn.)rounded out the balanced first-half attack, with McCarthy adding half of her total points in frame while Pryor and Sama chipped in with five points each.

The battle continued in the second-half, as the teams traded buckets until the 17-minute mark. With the AMCATS holding a slight 28-25 advantage, the Wildcats surged on a 11-0 run to take a 38-31 lead. Back-to-back three-point field goals by McCarthy and Sama cut the lead to a point, however Johnson and Wales never looked back and went on to take the game 58-48.

Samantha Ashton saved her best basketball for the second-half, adding a team high nine points to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. McCarthy added six more points in the second-half on a pair of three-point fieldgoals.

Both teams return to action on Monday, as Anna Maria hosts Simmons at 7:00 pm while theWildcats travel to Albertus Magnus at 1:00 pm.