Story courtesy of Rob Palardy, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The #2 seed Lesley University women’s basketball team defeated #3 seed Mitchell College 80-58 on Friday evening to advance to the New England Collegiate Conference Championship game on Saturday, February 27. The Lynx will host the title game and will play against #4 seed Elms College, who won their NECC Semifinal 56-52 over #1 seed Daniel Webster College.

After winning their 12th straight game, Lesley improved to 16-8 (14-2 NECC) on the season while Mitchell ended their 2009-2010 campaign with a 13-12 (12-4 NECC) mark.

Lesley senior Hailee Lowe (HAMILTON, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham Regional) scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half to lead the Lynx over the Mariners. Lowe was 10-of-18 from the floor including a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The center grabbed six rebounds and tallied three assists, two steals, and a block in the win.

Complementing Lowe’s effort was Kaitlyn Wechsler (MERRICK, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy Academy) with 16 points and Brianne Caira (PELHAM, N.H./Pelham) with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Caira also dished out five assists.

Mitchell got 16 points off the bench from guard Allison Peck (COLCHESTER, Conn./Bacon Academy) who in 32 minutes hit 5-of-13 shots from the floor including three three-pointers. Bianca Young (BRIDGEPORT, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, six of which on the offensive glass.

The Mariners hit the first shot of the game with a three-pointer by Kaylee Cerruto (TORRINGTON, Conn./Torrington), but that would be the only lead Mitchell would see as Lesley went on a 13-1 run to take control of the game. The host Lynx held a lead as large as 14 points with five second remaining, but a near half-court jumper by Peck beat the buzzer and the Mariners were down 11 points at halftime at 40-29.

In the second half, Mitchell seemed poised to make a comeback with a 6-2 run to start the period capped off by a three-point basket by Young. Lesley, however, regrouped and thanks to solid play off the bench from Erika Hill (DURHAM, Conn./Coginchaug) were able to stretch their lead back to double-digits for the remainder of the game. Hill scored five of her season-high 11 points in the second half. The freshman was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field including three long range jumpers in the game.

Two other starters for the Mariners contributed with solid games as both Cerruto and Destiney Harris (BRISTOL, Conn./Bristol Eastern) scored eight points apiece. Harris, however, had eight of Mitchell’s 19 turnovers in the game.

Lesley hosts Elms College on Saturday, February 27 at 6:00 pm at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, Massachusetts for the NECC Championship. The Lynx are looking to repeat as conference champions after winning the title last season. Lesley has beaten Elms twice this season already.