Lasers Take Down the Gators

Newton, MA-  Lasell College took down the Gators of Pine Manor College, 82-51, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball play, Tuesday night at the Lasell Athletic Center.  Senior forward Tricia Culver (Northampton, MA) scored a game-high 18 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing six assists and making five steals in the contest, as the Lasers improved their record to 7-15 this season. 

Lasell's sophomore forward JoAnna Bishop (So. Burlington, VT) and freshman guard Reegan Brackett (Scarborough, ME) also notched 17 points a piece.  Bishop produced on seven-of-ten field goal opportunities, as well as, scooped up seven rebounds.  The Lasers shot 45.8% over the course of the game, outdoing the Gators, who shot just 29.5%.  Lasell also out-rebounded the visitors 51-44, and scored 39 points off of the Gator's 26 turnovers.  

Junior guard Katie Farr (Rindge, NH) and freshman forward Kim Archibald (Lewiston, ME) were also top performers for the Lasers.  Each of them put up eight points on the scoreboard, in addition to Archibald seizing 13 boards and Farr distributing three assists and collecting five steals. 

For Pine Manor, Paullette Wright (Baltimore, MD) was the team-high scorer and game-high rebounder, pairing 16 points with 16 rebounds.  Wright also rejected four Laser shots and added two assists and two steals to the Gators efforts.  Enjolee Phillips (Hartford, CT) also dropped in 14 points for the visitors and Aponi Washington (Brockton, MA) took down 11 boards off the glass.  

Lasell opened with a quick bucket from Brittany Jefferies (Medford, MA) to go ahead 2-0.  A three-pointer by Tia Nelson (Rockport, MA) changed possession of the lead, but a Culver jumper on the baseline gave the favor back to the Lasers.  After six more lead changes over the course of seven minutes, Culver made a steal at the half-court and transitioned into a layup to give Lasell the edge, 14-13.  A baby hook by Archibald in the paint gave Lasell a three point lead, followed by a Kelsey Converse (Laconia, NH) steal which she converted into a trey for a 21-15 Lasell advantage, at the ten minute mark.

The Gators would close back within four points on two freebies by Nelson, but within two minutes of that the Lasers took a double-figure lead, 27-17.  With 4:39 on the clock, Brackett went on a solo 6-0 run, first posting a short jumper in the key, followed by a coast-to-coast bucket, and finished with a put-back off her own shot.  The run sparked the Lasers into their biggest lead of the half, 37-21.  Phillips hit from downtown to stop the Lasers momentum and the Gators closed the gap to just 11 points by the break, which ended at 38-27.

After halftime, Lasell came out on a 10-0 streak, to enjoy a 21 point edge with 16:13 left in the second period.  Another Nelson trey would bring Pine Manor to an 18 point deficit, at 13:52, but Lasell's strong play would boost the score to a thirty point advantage within the next seven minutes.  The Lasers enjoyed a comfortable edge the remaining minutes before the final buzzer sounded.

The Lasers finished the evening with a 3-6 GNAC record, while the Gators fall to 0-10 in the conference.  

Lasell is back in action on their home court, Saturday, February 13th at 4:00 p.m.  Saturday's contest is against GNAC rivals St. Joseph's College of Maine and will also be slated as the WBCA Pink Zone Game. All proceeds from the Pink Zone Game will be donated to promote breast cancer awareness.