Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics
By Bei Jia Viggiano ’28
Sports Editor
After four months of triumphs and challenges, Mount Holyoke Basketball’s 2024-25 season has at last come to a close. The Lyons competed in 25 games: 13 home and 12 away. The season opener pitted Mount Holyoke College against Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, on Nov. 9. The hard-fought game resulted in the Lyons falling short as the Dean College Bulldogs broke a 62-62 tie with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Lyons secured their first victory on Dec. 10 against Lesley University in a narrow 45-44 win. Cal McGonagle ’25 brought the Lyons to victory with two successful free throws that placed the College in the lead with 1:07 left in the game. The home game was Head Coach Abby Wemhoff’s first win of the season with the Lyons.
“The team has grown in more ways than just improving our physical play,” Hannah Goen ’27 said in an email to Mount Holyoke News. “Our biggest growth, I would say, would be in our confidence. For the first time in a long time, we believe that we can compete in our conference and are confident that in years to come we will see success.”
The triumph against Lesley University was the start of a winning streak, one that carried into 2025 for the Lyons. The team defeated Gordon College, Bard College and Colby-Sawyer College in back-to-back home games.
“Our defense is what drives our game,” Goen explained. “In the beginning of the season we really focused on defensive fundamentals, strategy and communication. However, we’ve shifted to more of an offensive focus, because at the end of the day, we need to get the ball in the basket to win games.”
A highlight of the basketball season was on Feb. 1, 2025, when the Lyons hosted a fundraiser at a game versus the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The game aimed to raise money for Time to Compete, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting young adults who battle cancer. On the court, MIT prevailed in a 81-39 win.
Goen told Mount Holyoke that the biggest challenge of the season was the number of injuries, which are “unfortunately common due to the high physicality of the sport.” Nevertheless, Goen said, the Lyons pushed through.
“It's forced us to become comfortable with last minute game adjustments. Some of our biggest successes include our four game winning streak and our realization that we can truly compete with the teams in our conference,” Goen said.
Mount Holyoke Basketball competed in its final game of the season in a matchup against the Coast Guard Academy on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Coast Guard.
Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.