GAME OVERVIEW:

Cambridge, MA: An injury hit Lesley went down to Newbury College Nighthawks by 43 points in their NECC game on Tuesday, February 13. Lynx head coach Jake Mattleman had only six players to pick from with senior Theresa Pereira the latest player to land on the treatment table after spraining her left ankle. Lesley were not completely out of contention at half-time when they trailed 33-17. The Nighthawks turned up their performance a couple of notches for the last 20 and were remarkably clinical from free throws. Forward Dakota Jones was once again the top-scorer for Lesley with 20 points and the sophomore managed to record the same amount of rebounds. The Lynx are 4-20 for the season with all their wins coming in their 11 conference games. Newbury are having a fantastic season and their record is now 16-8 and 13-2 in the NECC.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The home side held the lead twice in the opening quarter. Freshman Karyn McEvoy put Lesley ahead by sinking a jump shot before Linda Wallentine made it 8-6 with a layup.
• Wallentine's layup was Lesley's last score in the first quarter as Newbury took a firm command of the contest. Marc Taney's team went on a 12 point streak to the end of the quarter which included five free throw conversions from Taylor Kelley (two), Savannah Olsen (two) and Destiny Spears.
• Linda Wallentine ended the Nighthawks unanswered scoring run with a jump shot at the beginning of the second quarter. The Brookline school rediscovered their groove thereafter with a seven point run which included a 3-pointer from reserve Kristen Connors.
• Lesley's fortunes improved with a seven point run which included five points from the ever reliable Dakota Jones. The quarter then swung back in Newbury's favour as they landed the last eight points to lead by 16 going into the interval.
• Lesley's early scores in the third quarter came from Dakota Jones, Abby Henderson and Karyn McEvoy. Both Henderson and McEvoy canned 3-pointers.
• Newbury were much sharper when presented with attacking opportunites as they scored 12 of the last 14 points in the third quarter. The strong finish meant the away team were in a comfortable lead of 62-33 with only 10 minutes remaining in the conference game.
• The Lynx's opening two scores of the last quarter came from Dakota Jones and Linda Wallentine. Karyn McEvoy made the assist for Wallentine's jump shot.
• One positive that Jake Mattleman and assistant coach Todd Holden can take from the final quarter was the encouraging finish from Abby Henderson, who has stepped in to deputise for a number of injured players. Henderson hit three baskets in the fourth quarter, consisting of two jump shots and a layup. Henderson managed to bag nine points during her 38 minutes on court.
• The entire Newbury panel played a significant role in their success and that was evident by their bench points tally of 23, which was far superior to Lesley's two points from the bench. However, it must be taken into account that Lesley had only one reserve to call upon.
• Newbury punished Lesley for conceding fouls with a free throw percentage of 79.3%. Lesley's percentage for the entire game was just 33.3%.

STAT LEADERS:

LESLEY

Dakota Jones 20 points, 20 rebounds

Linda Wallentine 10 points, 2 steals

NEWBURY

Destiny Spears 23 points, 9 steals

Savannah Olsen 12 points, 12 rebounds

NEXT UP:

Lesley travel to Franklin to face Dean College in their final regular season game on Thursday, February 15 at 7pm. Newbury play their final regular season game at Bay Path University on Saturday, February 17 at 1pm.