Nashua, NH - The Raiders of Rivier College came away with a 14
point GNAC conference victory, 72-58, against Lasell College on
Thursday night.
Rivier came out on fire, scoring the first six points of the game before Lasell's Tricia Culver (Northampton, MA) scored their first basket of the game. Amanda Purcelle (Hudson, NH) was hot for the Raiders, scoring half of their points in the first ten minutes.
The Lasers, however, inched their way back into a two point game with three-point field goals by Reegan Brackett (Scarborough, ME) and Brittany Jefferies (Medford, MA) with nine minutes left in the half. Purcell retaliated with a trey of her own to give Rivier a, 22-17, lead with 8:23 left on the clock.
Over the next four minutes, the teams traded possessions but the iron was unkind to both sides. Kim Archibald (Lewiston, ME) finally broke the scoreless streak with two buckets, giving Lasell a slim one point deficit. At this point, Rivier's Lauren Brett (Otisfield, ME) went on a string of three hits, two from beyond the arc to increase the Raiders lead to ten. The teams entered the locker room with a 36-24 Raider advantage.
The Lasers hung tight in the second half, closing back into a five point contest after going on an 8-0 run with eight minutes expired in the final stanza. Lasell's run was concluded with two distance shots by Katie Farr (Rindge, NH).
Over the next six minutes, Rivier's Monica White (Augusta, ME) went on an 8-2 run of her own to extend the Raiders lead to 11 points. Lasell did not regroup to close the gap by any more than 11 points through the final three minutes.
Purcell led all scorers with 25 points while Brett dropped in 17 of her own and White added 14 points.
The Lasers were led by Archibald's 18 points and 13 rebounds. Bracket also scored in double-figures with ten total points, adding five steals. Culver finished with eight points and grabbed five boards in the GNAC set back.
Lasell College will host St. Joseph College of Connecticut, in Newton, MA at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 30th.