New Haven, CT – The Lasell Lasers fell to the Albertus Magnus Falcons by a final score of 82-77 on Saturday afternoon. The Lasers end their season with a 6-19 record overall and a 5-13 record in conference play. The Falcons are now 21-3 and 16-2.
The Lasers held an early 6-4 lead after Juju Nealy hit a three pointer. But a 14-4 run by the Falcons gave them control and a 20-8 lead. They would lead 30-18 after the first quarter. The Falcons extended their lead to as many as 19 points at 42-23, but the Lasers responded by scoring the next eight points, including back-to-back threes from Shirle Major and Sheridan Blaha. The Lasers would cut the lead to as low as 10 at 44-34 after another Major three pointer. The Falcons would take a 51-38 lead into halftime.
Albertus Magnus extended their lead back out 20 in the third at 65-45, but a 10-2 run from the Lasers, which included two more Shirle Major three pointers, cut the lead to 12. The Lasers would trail 69-55 going into the final quarter of the season. The Lasers used the momentum from the end of the third to continue to cut into the lead in the fourth. An 11-3 run cut the lead to six at 74-68, and the Lasers continued to pressure the Falcons. A Juju Nealy three with a little over a minute made it a one possession game at 76-73. Seconds later, Brenna Graber stole the ball and layed it in to make it 76-75. After some empty possession from both teams, the Falcons upped their lead to three on a layup with 27 second left. Shirle Major then responded with a layup of her own to bring the score to 78-77 with 18 seconds left. The Falcons would make two free throws to push the lead back up to three, and the Lasers missed a layup with eight seconds remaining, ending their chances. The Falcons would win 82-77.
The Lasers were led by Shirle Major's 31 points off the bench. That is tied for the 10th most points in a single game in program history. A lot of her damage game from deep, as she shot 7-12 from three point range. The seven made threes tied Courtney Casserly's program record set in 2006. Additionally, Major is just the third Laser in program history with multiple 30 point games after scoring 34 points in a game earlier this season. She joins Laser's assistant coach Katie Stopera (6) and Molly Lauver (2). Also scoring in double digits was Juju Nealy, as she scored 18 points. Jasmine DePina also had a strong game, grabbing 14 rebounds, and scoring nine points.
As a team, the Lasers made 12 three pointers, tying the program record that had happened four times before.
Up Next – The Lasers will return all of their key players next year, as their top seven scorers return in Juju Nealy, Shirle Major, Jasmine DePina, Brenna Graber, Laura Johnson, Brooke Damboise, and Kaitlyn Antonucci.