HOLYOKE, Mass. – Bay Path College senior Kayla Skiffington (East Longmeadow, Mass.) registered a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats past Lesley University 68-57 in New England Collegiate Conference action this afternoon. The win splits the season series as the Lynx defeated the Wildcats 56-53 on January 9th at Lesley. Bay Path improves to 7-13 on the year and 6-7 in NECC play while Lesley drops to 2-18 overall and 2-11 in conference play.
Justine Hook (Berwick, Pa.) and Toni Alexander (Enfield, Conn.) joined Skiffington in double –figures with 16 and 17 points, respectively. Alexander added six boards and a game-high nine assists to her line on the afternoon while shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Grace Amato (South Royalton, Vt.) led the Lynx charge with 18 points and eight rebounds. Amato did most of her damage from the free throw line, going 10-of-14 from the stripe. Senior Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) finished with ten points for the visitors while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out three assists. Classmate Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and 11 boards, her fourth game with double-digit boards in the last five.
The teams played a tight first half which featured three lead changes and the score tied six different times. Trailing 19-15 with 7:12 to go in the first half, back-to-back buckets from sophomore Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) and a free throw from senior Emily Fleming (Medford, Mass.) gave Lesley their first lead of the contest, 20-19. Bay Path would answer with an 8-5 run to take a 27-24 lead with just four seconds left, but Apgar would tie things up going into the break sinking three free throws after drawing a foul on a buzzer-beating three-point attempt.
Lesley continued the momentum as they went on a 7-2 run over the first five minutes of play in the second stanza. With the Lynx leading 36-31 with just over 13-minutes to go, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 streak and regained the lead on a Skiffington trey.
Holding a 48-44 edge, Bay Path would extend their cushion to 60-47 thanks to a 12-3 spurt over the course of 32-seconds. Hook found the touch from beyond the arc, knocking down four straight three's to account for all of Bay Path's point on the streak to lead the Wildcats to the 68-57 victory.
Both teams will return to the court on Tuesday, February 4th as the Lynx will play host to Daniel Webster College at 8:00p. Bay Path will welcome Elms College, also at 8:00p.