Lasers' Updates 11/25/2008

November 25, 2008

Women's Basketball

The Lasers' women's basketball team picked up their first win of the season against Eastern Nazarene, 88-56, in their home opener this week.  Lasell's senior co-captain Shauna Kelly (Quincy, Mass.) was the leading scorer with 21 points, while also dishing out 3 assists, picking up 3 steals, and collecting 6 rebounds.

 

The Lasers dominated the Crusaders from the beginning, leading up to a 21 point first half advantage.  The Lasers shot 50% from the field in the first half, and 45% overall in the game, as opposed to Eastern Nazarene shooting 23% first half and 27% in the game. 

 

Senior co-captain Katie Schumitz (Milford, Conn.) and freshman JoAnna Bishop (So. Burlington, VT) each finished the game just short of a double-double.  Schumitz had 14 points and a game high 9 assists, and Bishop threw in eleven points and 9 rebounds.  Junior co-captain Tricia Culver (N. Hampton, Mass.) completed with 7 boards, 16 points, 2 assists, and three steals. 

 

Lasell then hosted Roger Williams University on Saturday, and though the Lasers kept the game close up through the end, the Hawks flew away with a 62-55 win. 

 

Kelly kept the Lasers in the game, shooting fifty percent from the field and 90% from the free throw line.  Kelly totaled 27 points against the Hawks, including an unprecedented 17-19 free throws.  The Lasers brought the game within three points, until four free throws by Roger Williams in the final 30 seconds gave the visitors a seven point edge in the win.

 

Shauna Kelly 2.JPG Bishop once again gave a strong performance for the Lasers, with 9 board and 9 points.   Schumitz and Culver each produced 8 points for Lasell, with Culver picking up 5 rebounds.  Freshman Kelsey Correia (W. Wareham, Mass.) pulled down 8 boards in the post, and guards Katie Farr (Rindge, NH) and Kelsey Converse (Laconia, NH) combined for 9 steals.

 

Kelly (left) was named to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week for her outstanding performances in the Lasers' first four contests this season.  Kelly averaged 20.5 points per game, shooting 48.1% from the field, and totaling 82 points.  Kelly recorded a game, season, and career best 27 points against Roger Williams this week, going 17-19 from the line.  Through the first four contests, Kelly has shot 30-36 form the line, at 83.3%.

 

Kelly also averaged 5.0 rebounds this week, with ten offensive and ten defensive boards, as well as picked up 9 assists and 6 steals.  

 

Men's Basketball

The Lasers started their season out in dramatic fashion, beating the nationally ranked #9 Brandeis University Judges, 68-66, in a rematch of last year's first round game of the NCAA Championships in which the Judges came out the victors.

 

After an 0-5 deficit to start the game, Lasell went on an eleven point run and controlled the board for the remainder of the first half.  Lasell's defense shut down Brandeis' preseason All-American Steve DeLuca, holding him to only 3 first half points.  The Lasers had an eight point lead heading into half time, at 33-25, due in large part to Junior Sainval (Miami, FL) who tallied 11 points and went 3-5 from behind the arch.

 

The Judges chipped away at the Lasers' lead in the second half, tying the game once and closing within two points in the final minute of the game.  Brandeis has two last second shot attempts in the final seconds, but they did not connect, and Lasell held on for a 68-66 victory. 

 

Sainval led the game in scoring with 23 total points, going 7-10 from downtown.  Lasell's Brad Caravoulias (Dracut, Mass.) scored 10 points and picked up 4 boards and Sean Joynes (Philadelphia, PA) scored 8 points and tallied 6 rebounds.

 

In his first collegiate outing, point guard Kevin Richard (New Orleans, LA) racked up 7 assists and three steals and senior captain Jose Guitian (Miami, FL) had a game best 8 rebounds.

 

Over the weekend, the Lasers competed in the Roger Williams Tournament in Bristol, Rhode Island.  The Lasers faced Western Connecticut State University in first round of competition, and lost as the Colonials took a buzzer beating shot to win, 93-91, in overtime.  

The game saw 16 lead changes and 13 ties before being forced into overtime.  Guitian produced a double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds and Richard once again put out an impressive performance with 11 assists to only 1 turnover.  Caravoulias dropped in 22 points with 4 boards and 3 steals and Sainval added 10 points and 6 boards in the loss.

 

The following day, the Lasers picked up a win against the hosting Roger Williams University Hawks, 74-64, in the consolation game of the tournament.  Guitian (right) picked up honors on the All-Tournament team after tallying his second double-double in two days.  Guitian finished the weekend with 46 points and 25 rebounds.

 

The Hawks were up at the half by five, and remained ahead through the first 13 minutes of the second half.  Lasell battled back after consecutive threes by Charles Horton (Worcester, Mass.).  The Hawks tied the game three more times in the following minutes, but did not take the lead again. 

 

Richard was just one assist short of a double-double, coming out of the contest with 18 points and 9 assists.  Richard currently is averaging 9 assists per game, and has an outstanding 5.4 assist/turnover ratio. 

 

Guitian finished with 18 points and 13 boards, and is leading Lasell in both categories with 50 points and 33 rebounds this season, averaging 16.7 points per game. Caravoulias ended the game with four three pointers and 10 points.  Caravoulias is currently averaging 15.3 points per game for Lasell.

 

Upcoming Games:

 

Tuesday, November 25th-

 

  • Men's Basketball @ WPI, 5:30 p.m.
  • Women's Basketball vs. MIT, 7:00 p.m.

 

Tuesday December 2nd-

 

  • Men's Basketball @ #15 Amherst, 7:00 p.m.
  • Women's Basketball @ University of New England, 7:00 p.m.

 

Home games are in bold.