CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Daniel Webster sophomore Ashley Giampetruzzi (Manchester, N.H.) registered a game-high 23 points to go with her five rebounds as the Eagles clawed their way back from a second half deficit to top Lesley University 66-54 in New England Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball action tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols.
Freshman Katherine Johnson (Manchester, N.H.) came off the bench to join Giampetruzzi in double-figures for the visitors as she registered her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards, five of which came off the offensive glass. Senior guard Ariel Guzman (Yonkers, N.Y.) finished with six points and a team-high five assists for the Eagles, who are now winners of three out of their last four games.
Junior Grace Amato (South Royalton, Vt.) paced the Lynx attack, finishing with a team-high 18 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. The forward added seven rebounds and two blocks to her line as she also finished 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Senior Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) and sophomore Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) added 12 and ten points, respectively, while senior Emily Fleming (Medford, Mass.) tied a career-high with eight assists.
Lesley opened the game with a 5-0 streak after an Amato layup and Apgar trey, and continued to play with the lead the entire half. Just over five minutes in, Dimou and freshman Tara Coleman (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) would sink consecutive triples to push the Lynx advantage to 14-7, but the Eagles answered with a 7-0 spurt to knot the game at 14-14. Giampetruzzi was responsible for most of the offense on the streak, knocking down a jumper and a three-ball from the wing to spark the DWC offense.
The deepball continued to work for the Lynx as treys from Apgar and Coleman quickly broke the tie and push the Lesley lead back to six, 20-14. Over the next three minutes, the hosts would build their biggest lead of the night thanks to a 10-4 streak, holding a 30-18 edge. Amato tallied eight of her 18 points on the run which was capped by a Fleming jumper.
It looked as if the Lynx would cruise into halftime, but the Eagles closed the half on an 11-2 run. Sophomore Ashley England (Old Town, Maine.) started the spurt with two free throws and a jumper while Giampetruzzi took care of the rest with seven straight points.
The teams played a tight opening eight minutes of the second half, exchanging the lead five separate times. With just over twelve minutes to go, DWC got back-to-back buckets from freshman Kayla Free (Quincy, Mass.) and Giampetruzzi to claim a 43-42 advantage. The Eagles would not trail again.
Holding a 53-50 lead, DWC would outscore the Lynx 12-4 over the final 5:19 as the Eagles held on for the 66-54 victory.
Both teams will return to NECC action on Saturday as the Lynx will head to Elms College for a 12:00p start while the Eagles will travel to Becker College at 1:00p.