Women's Basketball Falls To Lesley, 67-56
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO LESLEY, 67-56
CHICOPEE, MA, Feb. 19, 2009 - Lesley University sophomore center Brianne Caira (Pelham, NH) registered game-highs with 29 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks as the Lynx used a key run over the final seven minutes to post a crucial 67-56 win over Elms College in Thursday's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball game at the Maguire Center.
Lesley (14-9, 13-1) won its fifth straight and remained atop the NECC standings one game ahead of second-place Mitchell heading into the final weekend of regular season play.
Elms College, meanwhile, had its three-game win streak snapped, but remained in sole possession of third place in the conference standings.
The Lynx led just 46-43 with 6:44 remaining before 12-3 run over the next five minutes to put the game out of reach.
Caira finished 9 of 14 from the field and 11 of 14 from the free throw line in 35 minutes of action, and was nearly unstoppable for the Lynx in the opening 20 minutes, as she nearly registered a first half triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks.
Junior forward Amanda Brogna (Oxford, MA) finished with a team-high 20-point, 14-rebound effort, including 13 points and seven rebounds in the opening half.
Lesley enjoyed its largest lead of the first half at 20-15 with 4:35 remaining before the Blazers closed the frame on a 9-5 run to cut the Lynx lead to 25-24 at intermission.
From there, the second half featured a total of three ties and eight lead changes before the Lynx pulled away in the final seven minutes.
Junior forward Tomie Lafond (Hatfield, MA) finished with 10 points, including three 3-pointers, while freshman guard Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham, MA) added nine points and a game-high seven assists for the Blazers in the loss.
Junior center Hailee Lowe (Hamilton, MA) scored 14 points and sophomore Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, NY) added 10 points to both reach double figures for Lesley, which outscored Elms College 26-12 from the free throw line.
Elms College concludes regular season play when it travels to Newbury for a conference game on Saturday, February 21. Tip-off is 12:00 p.m.