CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Southern Vermont College defeated Lesley University 77-51 in New England Collegiate Conference women's basketball action tonight at the Nicholas Athletic Center. The Mountaineers improve to 11-7 on the season and 9-2 in NECC play while the Lynx fall to 1-15 overall and 1-8 in the conference.
SVC junior Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) led all players with 23 points, six assists, and five steals to power the visitors while fellow junior Kala MacKenzie (Fair Haven, Conn.) added a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards. Classmate Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) joined Flagg and MacKenzie in double-figures as she finished with 11 points and six rebounds while freshman Danielle Simmons (Rensselaer, N.Y.) led the Mountaineer reserves with nine points and seven caroms.
Lesley junior Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) carried the Lynx with 15 points and a pair of steals while senior Grace Amato (Sharon, Vt.) added 14 points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Junior Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong) added nine points and five rebounds and senior Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) chipped in with four points and five boards for the hosts.
The Mountaineers led wire-to-wire as they opened the game with a 12-4 run and never looked back. Flagg sparked the run with a trey from the top of the key while McDonald capped it with an old-fashioned three-point play to give the guests an early eight point edge.
The Lynx would claw back to pull within three following a Ewing layup with 14:35 to go in the first, but SVC would quickly extend the lead back to ten with a 7-0 spurt sparked again by a Flagg triple. The Mountaineers kept their foot on the gas throughout the remainder of the half and went into the break with a 52-24 edge.
SVC shot an outstanding 57-percent in the opening twenty minutes while holding the Lynx to a 30-percent mark.
The Mountaineers would push their lead to as many as 38 points in the second half as they rolled to the 77-51 victory.
SVC out-rebounded Lesley by a 56-39 margin and outscored their hosts 44-28 in the paint.
The Lynx return to play on Tuesday as they travel to NECC foe Newbury College at 7:00p. The Mountaineers will also be back in NECC action on Tuesday as they host Becker College at 6:00p.
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