Women’s Basketball falls to the University of St. Joseph's, 71-59

NEWTON, Mass. (2/4/14)- The Lasell College women's basketball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match-up with the University of Saint Joseph's Blue Jays on Tuesday evening, 71-59. The loss left the Lasers at 9-10 overall and 2-3 in the GNAC, while the Blue Jays improved to an even 10-10 on the season and 3-3 in conference play. 

Junior Alexis Chappell (Springfield, Mass.) led the Lasers, compiling a game-high 18 points and pulling down eight boards on the night and converting 8-11 time from the field. Sophomore Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.) netted seven points and grabbed seven rebounds, while sophomore Molly Lauver (Cambridge, N.Y.) chipped in 13 points of her own in the loss. 

Junior Heather Framski (Prospect, Conn.) and senior Mary Hyde (Derby, Conn.) led the Blue Jays in scoring tallying 16 points a piece, going 7-18 from the field and Hyde shot 8-14 in field goals in the match-up. Framski also pulled down seven boards, while Hyde handed out five assists on the night. Senior forward Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 boards and 10 points in the game. 

Both the Lasers and the Blue Jays found their range early in the game as they each tallied 10 points to even the score at 10-10 five minutes into play. Chappell hit her first three shots from the field followed by a three point jumper from Lauver to take the lead 13-10. The Blue Jays went on a 12-5 run with that was capped with three points from Brianna Ferraro (Waterbury, Conn.) that made the Blue Jays lead 22-18 halfway through the first period. The Lasers would tie the score, 22-22 after a successful layup from Breeana Williams (Bloomfield, Conn.) with 9:26 remaining in the first half. Stephanie DeJesus (Meriden, Conn.) stopped this run scoring the next five points for the Blue Jays, sparking a 12-3 run en-route to a 34-25 lead at the half. 

The Lasers came out firing in the second half, three minutes in, behind baskets from Chappell, Danielle Autencio (Montville, Conn.) and Stopera to pull within six points, 38-32. Framski answered quickly with six of her own points, followed by two field goals from Ferraro, and a three point jumper from Devon Diliberto (Waterbury, Conn.) that extended the Blue Jays' lead to 52-35 with 12:38 remaining in the game. Lauver would knock down a duo of deep shots from behind the arc to make the score 59-45 with 7:41 remaining. The Lasers would stay strong and finish the game on a 7-4 run as Chappell and Lauver traded baskets to end the night, but it wasn't enough as the Blue Jays defeated Lasell 71-59. 

The University of Saint Joseph's return home to face conference for Norwich University on Thursday February 6th, at 7:00 p.m., while the Lasers travel to Rivier University for a game against the Raiders on Thursday February 6th for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.