NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell College women's basketball team battled back from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit, pulling to within two points, but time ran out on the Lasers and Northern Vermont University-Lyndon held on for a 54-52 victory Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at the Lasell Athletic Center.
Lasell outscored the visitors 17-6 in the fourth quarter, including 10-0 in the final seven minutes, but couldn't pull off the comeback. Junior Amanda Ortiz (Newton, Mass.) scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the final frame, including four straight Lasell baskets in a two-minute stretch that sliced the deficit from 12 points to six points (54-48) with five minutes remaining. The Lasers made just two of six free throws in the final three minutes in the comeback attempt.
Sophomore Peyton Young (Douglas, Mass.) supported Ortiz with eight points on 4-of-8 shooting. Senior Jaime Caron (Derry, N.H.) chipped in with six points. The Lasers had an off-day in the shooting department, making just 30 percent (19-of-64) from the field, including 7.7 percent (2-of-26) from three-point range.
Sophomore Faith Poirier (Portsmouth, N.H.) led the Hornets with 10 points, while junior Ellie Harrington (Fareham, Hampshire, UK) and freshman Ashlynn Bardos (Beaumont, Calif.) added eight points apiece off the bench. Senior Victoria Carlson (East Haven, Conn.) was good for seven points, nine rebounds and five assists, and junior Alissa Mitchell (Milton, N.H.) contributed five points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Lyndon went on an 11-3 run in the first quarter to take an eight-point lead (15-7). Lasell was within one point (17-16) early in the second quarter and took a 23-22 lead with four minutes to go before the break. The lead see-sawed back and forth before the visitors went to the locker room with a 24-38 advantage.
The Hornets scored the first seven points of the second half, including five by Poirier, to extend the lead to 41-28. Lyndon had its biggest lead, 51-35, after a Harrington three-pointer in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Caron sparked the Laser comeback with a layup before Ortiz caught fire, but Lasell came up short down the stretch.
Lasell is off for three weeks for the holiday break, and will return to action on Saturday, January 5, 2019, with a home game against UMaine Farmington (1:00 p.m.). Lyndon also plays again on Jan. 5, when the Hornets travel to the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) for a 3:00 pm tip-off.
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