WBB: Lasell captures GNAC win at Saint Joseph (Conn.)

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Four Lasell College players scored in double figures Wednesday evening as the Lasers defeated the University of Saint Joseph, 75-62, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's basketball game inside the O'Connell Center.

Graduate Student Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with six assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Peyton Young (Douglas, Mass.) scored a game-high 18 points on an efficient 7-for-12 from the field, junior D'Asia Allen (Providence, R.I.) chipped in with 14 points off the bench, and senior Amanda Ortiz (Newton, Mass.) finished with 12 points and nine boards.

The Lasers (7-16, 2-9 GNAC) have won two of their last three, while the Blue Jays (3-21, 0-11 GNAC) have lost seven straight.

Freshman forward Cheyenne-Mone Smith finished two points shy of a 20-20 game, and two steals shy of a triple-double for the Blue Jays, posting 18 points, 20 rebounds and eight steals. Freshman guard Silvana Barcomb (Middletown, Conn.) added in 17 points in the setback.

USJ led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, finishing the quarter on a 12-4 run. Sophomore guard Anna Chevarella (Derby, Conn.) scored a quick five points, while Barcomb and Smith carried the rest.

The Blue Jays held serve in the first minute of the quarter, taking a 20-19 lead on a Barcomb bomb from deep. The Lasers then took total control, scoring 12 straight points over the next three minutes, as five different players scored, led by Allen, who sank a cold-blooded three with one second left in the quarter to push the lead to 10, 40-30 at the half. Muir and Young both made critical shots in the run as well. 

The three-point shot was key in keeping the Lasers in front. The Blue Jays, despite making plenty of shots in the quarter, could not get a run going to chip away. Both teams split the third, as Allen, Muir and Young all scored for LC, while Barcomb and Smith continued to contribute on the offensive end. The Lasers led after three, 56-46, maintaining a double-digit lead for nearly the entire 10 minutes.

Lasell had an answer for every basket in the fourth, as Smith and sophomore point guard Raelynn Voislow (Windsor Locks, Conn.) led the offensive charge. It just wasn't enough, as the Blue Jays were unable to get stops down the stretch to cut into the lead, despite nearly matching the Lasers overall in the other three quarters. Young and Allen blossomed the lead to 14, 67-53 midway through the period. It was a matter of playing even the rest of the way.

The Lasers will close out the season this Saturday, February 16, with a visit to league-leading Saint Joseph's College (Maine) for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off. USJ will close out the season at home against Regis College on Saturday, February 16 at 3:30 p.m.

(Courtesy of USJ Athletic Communications)

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