NETWON, MA – The Lasell Women's basketball team played a great game, but they were unable to hang on for the win in today's GNAC match-up against Emmanuel College.  Emmanuel's Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, MA) scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Saints past Lasell College, 66-56, in Newton.  Kim Archibald (Lewiston, ME) led the Lasers with 19 points on the day.

The Lasers came out strong in the opening stanza, starting the game on an 8-3 spurt capped by a layup by Archibald to take a five point lead with 12:54 remaining in the half. Emmanuel would answer with a 10-2 run of its own fueled by four points from Kirwan to take a 13-10 lead with 8:53 to play. Over the next three minutes of action, the Saints would appear to take control of the game, going on an 11-2 run, to give the visitors a comfortable 24-12 advantage with 5:40 left in the opening frame. The Lasers though, made sure the game stayed within reach, as they closed out the first half on a 14-3 rant.   Freshman guard Justine Ryan (Norwood, MA) helped cut the deficit with a pair of three-pointers in the run to make it a 27-26 game in favor of the Saints heading into the halftime intermission.

The Lasers opened the second half with a pair of free throws by freshman guard Alexis Chappell (Springfield, MA) to put the them ahead at 28-27 and give the hosts their first lead of the contest since the 10:30 mark of the first half.   The Saints came back though and rattled off the next five points on back-to-back hoops to pull ahead with 17:54 left in the game.

With 14:08 remaining in the game, Archibald would sink one of two free throws to pull the Lasers to within two points at 36-34 but it was the closest the hosts would come as Emmanuel was able to hold on for the win.  The Saints went up by 10 with 10:20 left but the Lasers responded with a 6-0 spurt to pull within two possessions at 48-44 with just over eight minutes to play. 

Although the Lasers would not take the lead again, they continued to battle back, never trailing by more than eight points throughout the final five minutes of play. A layup by Archibald with 2:25 left in regulation would pull the Lasers to within two hoops yet again at 58-54, but the Saints would close out the game on an 8-2 run to seal the 66-56 GNAC win.

Archibald ended the afternoon with a team-high 19 points on 9-13 shooting while senior guard JoAnna Bishop (So. Burlington, VT) contributed 13 points. Freshman forward Danielle Autencio (Montville, CT) was strong for the Lasers on the glass, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

Lasell will be back in action  on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. when they host GNAC opponent St. Joseph's (ME) at 6:00 p.m.  Emmanuel will head to Brunswick, Maine tomorrow to face Bowdoin College at 1:00 pm in a non-conference matchup.