Hartford, Conn. - Sophomore forward Erin Johnson (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) scored a team-high 21 points and added five assists to lead the visiting Wellesley College Blue to a 77-66 win over the Trinity College Bantams in women’s basketball action this evening at Ray Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity falls to 2-3 with its second loss in a row after a 38-day lay-off, while the Blue improve to 5-3.

Trinity came out strong to take an early 12-4 lead, which it held for most of the first half. The Blue fought back to tie the score at 26-26 with 5:30 remaining in the half and held a 33-31 advantage at the intermission. The Bantams shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and made five three-pointers in seven tries, but committed 12 turnovers to just five for Wellesley. Bantam sophomore center Rebecca Bell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) made all three of her three-pointers to total 13 points in the half, while freshman forward Jennifer Gargiulo (Boxborough, Mass.) had 11 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, Wellesley maintained between a five and 10 point lead for the majority of play, until Trinity scored six unanswered points on two short jumpers by sophomore forward Michelle McCaffrey (West Springfield, Mass.) and a pair of free throws by Gargiulo to pull within three points at 69-66 with just under a minute left to play.

The Bantams got the ball back on a missed free throw but Gargiulo was too strong on an inside shot attempt. After a pair of free throws by Wellesley sophomore forward Bridget Harris (Newbury Park, Calif.) put the Blue up by five points, Bell nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key but was called for traveling to negate the basket. Johnson scored the game’s final six points to give Wellesley an 11-point victory.

Bell finished with a career-high 27 points, making 10 out of 17 shots from the field and a career-best seven out of nine from long range for the Bantams. McCaffrey added 16 points, making eight out of 13 of her field goal attempts, with six boards and four assists, and Trinity senior captain guard Liz Bontempo (Granby, Mass.) had 14 points, including four three-pointers. Gargiulo controlled the boards with a career-high 18 rebounds, while sophomore guard Tracy Nesbit dished out eight assists for the Bantams. Trinity made 12 threes in 20 attempts for the game.

Wellesley senior center Kelly Grover (Westbrook, Maine) finished with 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, while senior guard Christine Carbonello (Londonderry, N.H.) had 15 points and five steals, and Harris added 11 points, a team-high seven boards, and four assists.

^{W- Erin Johnson 8-14 (2) 3-5 21, Kelly Grover 8-14 0-0 16, Christine Carbonello 6-9 (3) 0-1 15, Bridget Harris 4-10 (1) 2-2 11, Catherine Romasco 2-5 (2) 0-1 6, Elizabeth Senecal 2-4 0-0 4, Hadley Diest 1-2 0-0 2, Laura Weslander 1-3 0-0 2, Michelle Kim 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals: 32-62 (8) 5-9 77.}

^{TC- Rebecca Bell 10-17 (7) 0-0 27, Michelle McCaffrey 8-13 0-1 16, Elizabeth Bontempo 5-9 (4) 0-0 14, Jennifer Gargiulo 2-11 2-2 6, Kerri Stumpo 1-2 (1) 1-2 3, Tracy Nesbit 0-4 0-0 0.
Totals: 26-56 (12) 2-3 66.}