Women's Basketball Suffers OT Defeat in Opener

WENHAM, MA—The Lasell College women's basketball team dropped a 62-53 in overtime to Gordon College in the Fighting Scots tip=off tournament. Gordon trailed by eight points at halftime, but shot 44-percent from the field in the second half to force a five-minute overtime period. The Scots made five of their eight shots in extra time to surge past the Lasers and claim their first victory of the young 2013-14 season. 

Game one of the Gordon College Tournament was a tale of two halves, as Lasell jumped all over the Fighting Scots early on in the contest. Alexis Chappell (Springfield, Mass.) and Danielle Autencio (Montville, Conn.) helped build up a six-point lead in favor of the Lasers, 14-8 with 11 minutes to play in the first half. 

The Scots came roaring back over the next few possessions thanks to a trio of underclassmen. Gordon's leading scorer from a season ago, Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Fall, Ohio) capped off a 8-0 run to give the Scots a two-point lead with eight minutes and change to play in the first half. 

Gordon would struggle from the floor for the remainder of the half, as Chappell and Autencio took over the game for the Lasers. Lasell led 26-18 at the half on a 10-0 run, holding the Scots without a basket over the final seven minutes. 

The Scots shot 20-percent from the floor in the first half, while Lasers maintained control by making all eight of their free throw attempts in the first 20 minutes. 

Lasell opened the first half with a three-pointer by Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.) to extend the Lasers' lead to a game-high 11 points. The Scots countered with a flurry of buckets from Kratche and sophomore point guard Mariel Barner (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to cut the Lasers' lead down to a mere four points. 

With 8:23 remaining in the second half, Clancey Adams (Simsbury, Conn.) hit her only bucket of the game and it gave the Scots their first lead of the period at 40-39. Lasell came back with a few baskets of their own, retaking a three-point lead with only four minutes to play in the game. 

Senior forward Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) hit one of her four made three's to knot the game at 47 points aside with three minutes remaining. Fredi Nielsen (Bridgeport, Conn.) gave the Scots a two-point lead on a nifty turnaround jumper in the lane, a lead they would hold until the closing seconds.

After using their final timeout of the half, Lasell's Autencio got loose underneath her basket and laid up the tying score with 30 seconds to play. The Scots missed two three-point attempts on their final possession, forcing an overtime period. 

The Lasers went cold at the wrong time, making only one basket from the field in the final period, while the Scots made five shots from the floor. Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) was the leading scorer in the period with four points—she finished with nine on the evening. 
Gordon's lockdown defense over the final 25 minutes of play proved to be the difference in the Scots' come-from-behind victory. 

Kratche had a stat-stuffing night, scoring 16 points and wrangling in 15 boards. She also added five assists, eights steals and a block to boot. Bareford was the second-highest scorer for the Scots with 12 points, all from behind the arch. The freshman Nielsen scored 11 points in her collegiate debut, while also collect six rebounds. 

Kranyak and Barner rounded out the rest of the scoring with nine points apiece. 

Autencio pitched a double-double for the Lasers, with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Chappell also had a nice evening with 16 points and two steals in 33 minutes on the floor. 

Gordon moves on to the championship round against Drew University at 3 p.m., while Lasell plays New England College in the consolation game at 1 p.m. on the Bennett Center Court.