Wildcats Escape Women's Hoops 68-64

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (2/13/16) – The Lasell women's basketball team came up short against top seeded Johnson and Wales University 68-64 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Saturday evening inside the Wildcat Center. The Lasers fall to 11-13 overall and 4-6 in the GNAC, while the Wildcats move to 21-1 this season and 9-1 in league play.

STAT LEADERS FOR LASELL

Senior guards Deanna Barrett (Berlin, Conn.) and Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.) poured in a game-high 19 points in the effort. Barrett converted on 4-of-8 shots from downtown and pulled down seven boards, while Stopera was 7-for-16 from the floor to go along with 15 points from long range. Freshman Liz Bougie (Sanford, Maine) came off the pine to score 11 points with four assists.

STAT LEADERS FOR JWU

The Wildcats were led by Raquel Pederzani with 18 points highlighted by 4-for-7 shooting from three point territory. Ashley Thompson dropped 17 points off the bench and pulled down nine points in the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lasers came out strong in the opening 10 minutes of play, as Stopera and Barrett teamed up for 18 of Lasell's 19 points. Holding a 19-13 lead after the first quarter, the Wildcats ignited a 16-4 run to pull within one possession with 5:21 left in the half. A tossup from Thompson gave JWU its first lead of the game 29-25, where the hosts kept the Lasers at bay for the game's remainder. Thompson put JWU in a double-digit lead, 46-26, but the Lasers turned an 11-5 stretch of their own to slice the deficit in half thanks to hot shooting from downtown by Stopera and Barrett.

The deficit shrunk down to a single possession with 5:26 left to go in regulation when Bougie eased into a three-pointer off the hands of junior Sherilyn Small (Springfield, Mass.).  Bougie continued her solid shooting with a go-ahead three pointer, 62-61 to force a timeout by the home team with 3:07 left to play.

As the Lasers entered foul trouble in the closing minutes of the contest, the Wildcats survived the victory from the charity stripe, converting on a final 5-of-6 throws for the 68-64 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The Lasers were slightly shot out by the Wildcats with JWU shooting 41.9% to Lasell's 37.7%. The Wildcats held a 49-35 margin on the glass in the effort, and drove in for 28 points inside the paint.

WHAT'S NEXT

Lasell will close out its regular season on Saturday, February 20 when they host St. Joseph's (Conn.) in honor of the 2016 senior class, with tip-off slated for 1:00 p.m.