WBB: Lasers Fall to Lancers in OT

Worcester, MA - Lasell women's basketball faced the Lancers of Worcester State on Saturday afternoon. 

The Lasers coming off a nice home win, traveled to southern Mass. to face the Lancers of Worcester State. In a similar fashion to the men's game which also took place on Saturday, the lady Lasers got off to a hot start scoring the first 11 points of the game. In an early 11-0 run, 4 of 5 starters scored displaying a versatile Lasers attack. However, the Lancers did find some rhythm and brought the game back to within 1 at the end of the first frame. In the second quarter, there was a lot more back and forth but the Lasers did hold leads of up to 8 points as Kiara Cerruti had 9 points in the quarter, giving the Lasers a 5-point halftime advantage. In the third quarter, the shooting from the Lancers allowed them to open a double-digit lead of their own as they led 57-47 after a 21-6 run. Still trailing by 7 at the end of the quarter, the Lasers did not want to go away as they made an 11-4 run which knotted the game at 67-67 about halfway through the fourth. Trading baskets down the stretch, the Lancers held a 3-point lead with 29 seconds left on the clock. Out of a Lasell timeout, the Lasers found Kiara Cerruti who nailed a 3 to tie the game at 77-77. The next possession on defense Blaize Mack ripped the ball away from a Lancer and found Cerruti for a layup giving them the two-point lead. Unfortunately, after exchanging some free throws, Hannah Lomonaco hit a buzzer-beater 3 to send the game to overtime. In OT, the Lasers just didn't have quite enough, with a few turnovers inside the final minute resulting in a 93-89 road defeat. Kiara Cerruti was the leading scorer on the afternoon for the Lasers, scoring 18 points and adding 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Three of the other four Laser starters were also in double figures: Juju Nealy (17), Shirle Major (16), Blaize Mack (10) and just missing a double-double was Laura Johnson with 9 points and 11 rebounds. 

Up Next - The Lasers look to bounce back with a home game on Tuesday versus Wellesley at 7 PM in the Athletic Center.