POULTNEY, Vt. – The Lesley University women's basketball team could not hold on to a double-digit second half lead as host Green Mountain College stormed back to topple the Lynx 67-59 in non-conference action this evening at the Eagle Dome.
GMC's Sherelle Jackson and Torie Cowell both posted double-doubles to power the hosts attack that saw the Eagles outscore the Lynx 44-29 in the second half.
The Eagles jumped out to the early advantage leading 9-4 after a made jumper by Jackson at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter. Lesley then proceeded to go on a 12-3 run, culminating with an Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) old-fashioned three-point playto head into the second stanza with a 16-12 lead.
Kali Demarco's jumper at the 7:58 mark of the second brought the Eagles back even at 18-18. The teams traded baskets back-and-forth most of the period until the 2:07 mark when the Lynx closed out the half's scoring with six points capped by four-straight by Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) to give the visitors a 30-23 halftime cushion.
Lesley opened the second half with consecutive layups by Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) and Pereira to stake their biggest lead of the night, 34-23. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the lead throughout the third quarter and eventually drew even at 43-43 with 25 seconds remaining on the strength of two free throws by Cowell.
After trading buckets to open the final quarter, Lesley took at four point advantage, 51-47, with 6:35 remaining when Emily Meade (Derry, N.H.) hit a layup after a nice set up from Pereira causing the hosts into a timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, the Eagles' Mercedes Rideout nailed a three-pointer and then Maddy Postnikoff converted a jumper after a trio of passes to give the Eagles a 52-51 advantage. The team reeled off four more points to take a 56-51 lead with 3:14 remaining.
The Lynx narrowed the gap to three when Goggin hit a jumper with 2:51 to play, but the Eagles would sink six critical free throws down the stretch to keep the visitors from mounting a comeback attempts.
Jackson's 26 points led all scorers while she also added 10 rebounds to her line. Cowell's 16 boards was also a game-high and she tallied 13 points on offense. Rideout and Demarco also scored double-digit points with 12 and 11, respectively. Postnikoff and Hayley Loisel each grabbed seven caroms which helped the team outrebound the Lynx, 61-55.
Lesley had three players score in double-figures with Dimou leading the way with 19 to go with eight boards on the night. Pereira notched 16 points, four boards and three assists, while Goggin recorded 11 points and eight rebounds. Anthea Rathjens led the Lynx in rebounding by corralling 13 off the glass.
Lesley will face a quick turnaround and be back on the court tomorrow when they return to Cambridge for a New England Collegiate Conference matchup with Elms College at 8:00p. Green Mountain will suit up again on Friday for a North Atlantic Conference battle against Husson at 5:30 p.m.