WENHAM, MASS.—The Gordon College women's basketball team dominated the scoring in a 67-31 win over visiting Lesley University tonight in non-conference action in Wenham, Mass. Gordon fell behind 2-0 in the first minute of play, but never trailed again, on their way to registering their largest margin of victory in four years.
It did not take long for the Scots to shape up their defense after allowing an uncontested layup only 40 seconds into the game. Gordon responded to the opening breakdown in communication by going on a 25-3 run to open up a 20-point lead with seven minutes to play in the first half.
Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) and Fredi Nielsen (Bridgeport, Conn.) sparked the Gordon run by scoring six of the Scots first eight points. Bareford capped off the extensive run with a deep three-point shot from the right side on a skip pass by Olivia Vetere (Mahopac, N.Y.). The senior guard finished with seven points in the first half to lead all scorers.
Each team added five points in the final stretch during the first half, as the Scots took a 30-10 into the break. The Scots held their opponents to a season-low 10 points in a half on 15% shooting, while Gordon shot 40% from deep to pair with their suffocating defense.
Gordon began the second half with a similarly impressive run as the first—outscoring the Lynx 24-5 in the first 12 minutes of the half to extend their lead to 39 points. Mariel Barner (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took over the scoring in the middle of the run by earning three "and-1" opportunities in a span of four minutes in the second half. She was the second leading scorer in the half with nine points, while also dishing out five assists.
The biggest story of the second half was the takeover by Nielsen. The freshman forward has shown flashes of brilliance thus far into her young career, but Saturday's performance was her most complete. Nielsen was limited to only six points in the first half, but she exploded onto the scene in the second half by scoring 12 points in the low post.
She finished as the game's leading scorer with 18 points, but her breakout performance was hardly limited to the scoreboard. Nielsen added a double-double with 12 rebounds and swatted a career-high five blocks, which is one of the highest single-game totals in program history.
The Scots opened their biggest lead of the game with 2:11 to play, as a layup by Nielsen gave Gordon a 41-point advantage. Lesley scored the final five points of the game, but the 36-point victory spoke volumes about the Scots' complete performance on the defensive end. The 31 points allowed was the least since Gordon held Southwestern College to 30 points on January 4, 2005 at the Whittier College Tournament.
Tara Coleman (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) was the outstanding performer for the Lynx. She finished with a team-high 15 points, with all five of her buckets coming from behind the arch. No other Lesley player had more than five points during the game. Grace Amato (South Royalton, Vt.) had a team-high six rebounds in 23 minutes of playing time.
Nielsen and Barner combined for 19 rebounds for the Scots, as they outrebounded the Lynx 41-33. Gordon also had a season-high 11 steals on the afternoon with Vetere leading the way with three.
Bareford (15 points) and Brooke Kratche (10 points) were the other two players in double figures for Gordon, while Vetere added seven points as well.
The Lynx will return to the floor after the Winter Break when they travel to Rivier College on January 5, 2014 for a 1:00p tip-off.