BROOKLINE, Mass. – Lesley University sophomore Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H) scored a career-high 21 points, but it was not enough as the Lynx fell to Newbury College 53-48 this afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action. The win moves the Nighthawks to 2-10 on the year and 2-5 in NECC play while the Lynx fall to 1-13 overall and 1-6 in the conference.
Newbury was led by a 19-point effort from sophomore Katelyn Roeser (Nashua, N.H.) while classmate Alex Pezzela (Rockland, Mass.) chipped in with 13. Senior Katey Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) finished with nine points and five rebounds and freshman Janetis Cardona (Southbridge, Mass.) grabbed a team-high ten boards while dishing out a game-high seven assists.
Dimou registered her 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting including knocking down 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Her offense was complemented by a nine point, ten rebound game from senior Emily Fleming (Medford, Mass.) while classmate Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) chipped in with six points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Sophomore Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong) came off the bench to score five points in the loss.
The Lynx jumped out to a 7-2 advantage early on in the first half, but that lead was quickly erased when the Nighthawks got three consecutive treys from Pezzella, Roeser, and sophomore Jovanna Sandifer (Boston, Mass.). The teams would exchange the lead two more times in the half before Newbury went on a 14-6 streak to end the first, and went into the locker room with a 32-25 edge.
Roeser had the hot hand as she scored 17 of her 19 points in the opening twenty minutes, including hitting on 5-of-7 from three-point range.
Newbury never trailed in the second half and had to withstand a late Lynx surge in the final minutes to hang on for the victory.
With Lesley trailing 48-35 with 7:24 to go, Dimou drilled a trey that sparked an 8-0 spurt to climb within five, 48-43. Haney would snap the Lynx run, nailing two from the free throw line. Dimou would try to bring Lesley back one more time, cutting the lead to four when she hit on another three-point attempt with just over two minutes left, but it was too little too late as Newbury held on for the 53-48 victory.
Both teams shot an identical 27.9-percent (17-of-61) from the field, while the Nighthawks held a slim advantage from three-point range. Newbury hit on 53.8-percent (7-of-13) of their three-point attempts while Lesley sunk 42.9-percent (6-of-14) from downtown.
Lesley returns to action on Tuesday, January 21st when they travel to Wheelock College for some more NECC action at 7:30p.