WATERVILLE, Me. - Needing a victory over North Atlantic Conference opponent Thomas College to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Lesley University women's basketball team lost to the Terriers 70-62.

Freshman and two-time NAC Rookie of the Week Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, N.Y.) scored a game-high 25 points in the losing effort.  Wechsler finished the game shooting 7-of-14 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free throw line.  The Lynx struggled to find a complement Wechsler's offense as the next highest scorers were Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.) and Courtnie Leakeas (Lowell, Mass.) with eight points each. 

The Terriers had three double-digit scorers as Karen Demers (Sanford, Me.), Lea McNary (Marlborough, Conn.) and Cortney Barrett (Monmouth, Me.) had 19, 15 and 13 points, respectively.  Barrett completed the double-double grabbing 13 rebounds and also tallied four steals and three assists. 

Thomas jumped out to an early 12-0 lead in the first half and maintained that lead for much of the period.  Going into halftime, the Terriers were up 14 points at 43-29 thanks to 11 points from Barrett and 10 points from Demers. 

Led by Wechsler's 17 second half points, the Lynx battled hard in the second half.  With the lead trimmed down to 66-60 with just 0:58 seconds remaining, the Terriers were able to hit key free throw down the stretch in order to seal the victory. 

With the loss, the Lynx fall to 10-13 (5-8 NAC) while the Terriers improve to 11-11 (5-8 NAC).  Despite having the same conference record, Thomas will finish ahead of Lesley in the standings as they won both meetings this season.

Lesley will be back in action on Saturday at UMaine-Farmington while Thomas will host Bay Path College.

To learn more about the Lesley University women's basketball team, please visit their website.