CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Lesley University women's basketball team was not able to overcome a hot start by host Elms College as the Blazers opened the game with a 19-3 run and went on to capture an 85-32 New England Collegiate Conference win tonight at Picknelly Arena.
Lesley sophomore Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) provided a game-high 16 points with two steals for the Lynx while senior Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds with nine points. Fellow senior Hayley Wirth (Escondido, Calif.) had four points and sophomore Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) added three points for the visitors.
The Lynx took their one and only lead of the game after a Dimou bucket in the opening minute of play. Elms held the Lynx to just three points in the first quarter as Elms junior Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) and sophomore Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) combined for 13 first half points to give the Blazers a 19-3 lead after the first quarter.
With the win, the Blazers improve to 6-7 on the season, and 4-1 in the NECC, while Lesley drops to 1-11 and 0-6 in conference action.
Elms continued the onslaught in the second quarter, opening the frame on a 12-0 run to extend their advantage to 31-3 with 6:55 remaining in the quarter. A layup by Wirth ended the Lynx nearly 13-minute scoring drought at the 6:07 mark. The Blazers closed the first half on a 10-4 run to grab a 41-9 lead heading into halftime.
Lesley kicked off the second-half scoring with a three-pointer from Goggin, but the Blazers sandwiched layups from senior J.C. Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) around a three-pointer from Burr to put Elms up 52-14. The Lynx tried to chip away at the deficit with a 7-2 run, but the Blazers stifled Lesley's hopes by responding with an 8-2 run to close the third quarter with a 62-23 lead.
Burr provided 16 points for the hosts while LaRochelle registered her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and four assists. Pickett tallied 10 points and eight rebounds, while O'Donnell netted a career-high nine points with a career-high five rebounds.
Elms converted 47.9% (35-of-73) from the field, including 25% (3-of-12) from three-point range, and 54.5% (12-of-22) from the foul line. Lesley shot 21.1% (12-of-57) from the floor, 15.4% (2-of-13) from three-point, and 42.9% (6-of-14) on free throws.
Both teams will return to action on Saturday. Lesley will return home to Cambridge when they host Mitchell College in an NECC matchup at 7:00p while the Blazers will host Regis College in a conference tilt at 3:00p.