Women's Basketball Tops Lesley 66-38

NEWTON, Mass. (1/8/15) – The Lasell College women's basketball team defeated Lesley University 66-38 in non-conference action on Thursday evening inside the Lasell Athletic Center gymnasium. With the win, Lasell improves to 4-7, while Lesley falls to 0-8.

The Lasers were paced by junior guard Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.), sophomore guard Sherilyn Small (Springfield, Mass.) and freshman guard Breanna Cashman (Norwich, Vt.) who each netted 10 points in the victory. Stopera grabbed eight rebounds and dished out eight assists, while Cashman pulled down six boards. Junior forward Breeana Williams (Bloomfield, Conn.) recorded four steals and one block in the win. The win was a total team effort as ten Lasers tallied at least three points in the contest for a season team-high of 66 points.

Junior guard Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong, China) produced a game-high 16 points for the Lynx, shooting 6-for-13 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep range. Senior forward Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) grabbed a game-high ten rebounds and had two steals, while center Grace Amato (Sharon, Vt.) tallied eight points and pulled down eight rebounds.

Lasell came out flying in the first half as the Lasers went on a 20-4 run over the opening 5:22 of the first stanza. The spurt was sparked by three consecutive deep three-pointers by Justine Ryan (Norwood, Mass.), Stopera, and Williams that gave the Lasers an 11-2 lead. Sophomore guard Sherilyn Small (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with a pair of free throws, Stopera had a layup, and Deanna Barrett sank a three-point shot to end the run. Amato sank a pair of free throws and a layup for Lesley to pull the Lynx within 15 points (30-15). The Lasers closed out the opening stanza on a 7-0 run to make the score 42-18.

Lesley went on a 16-4 run over the final 10:44 minutes of action that was ignited by Ewing who scored ten of the 16 points, while Rathjens, Amato and freshman forward Kelsey Lynch (Rumford, R.I.) each chipped in with two points apiece.

Lasell shot 36.4-percent (24-for-66) from the field, 36.4-percent (8-for-22) from deep range, and 66.7-percent (10-for-15) from the charity stripe. Lesley shot 30.0-percent (15-for-50) from the field, 40.0-percent (2-for-5) from three-point territory and 40.0-percent (6-for-15) from the free-throw line.

The Lasers held a slight 42-41 advantage in rebounds, a 14-11 margin in second chance points, and a 30-12 differential in points off of turnovers.

Lasell returns to action next Tuesday when the Lasers travel to New England College for a non-conference game with tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m., while Lesley hits the court on Saturday for a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) match with Becker College at 3:00 p.m.