CHICOPEE, MA -- Brianne Caira's big week continued, as the senior came up a block shy of a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks in Lesley's 51-48 New England Collegiate Conference victory Saturday at Elms.
With the win, Lesley (2-6) moves to 2-0 in NECC play, taking the Blazers (2-6) conference opener by hitting 5-6 free throws in the final 36 seconds. Rachael O'Mara led Lesley with 16 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers and taking in four rebounds and three steals.
A 10-0 first half Lynx run spanning 6:30 featuring four points from both Caira and O'Mara opened up an eight-point Lynx lead, 25-17 inside the 2:30 mark. From that point on, Elms closed the half on a 7-0 run capped by a buzzer-beating Emily Condon layup that pulled the Blazers to within one at 25-24.
Elms opened the second half with three straight buckets to make it a 13-0 run, taking a five-point lead on another Condon layup followed by an Erika Murphy jumper with 17:21 left. Lesely retook the lead on a three-pointer from Kaitlyn Wechsler, who had her best game of the week. The senior's three put the Lynx ahead by two at the 12:28 mark, as the forward turned in a 12-point, four-rebound, three-steal, three-block performance.
The teams exchanged leads, twice tying the contest before an O'Mara three-pointer tied the game for a third time in a nine-minute span at the 4:00 mark. After another O'Mara jumper, Condon tied the game again, 44-44 with 2:38 to play.
Coming out of a Lucia Robinson timeout a minute later, an O'Mara layup gave Lesley a 46-44 lead with 93 seconds to play, a lead the team would never relinquish. Caira's career-high ninth block preceded her two free throws on the offensive end, extending the lead to four.
Back at the Elms end of the floor, Caira's fourth foul sent Murphy to the line, who drained a pair to make it a two-point game, 48-46. Forced to foul, Elms sent Wechsler to the line, and the senior nailed two, but a Murphy layup pulled the Blazers back within two, 50-48, with 10 seconds left.
Wechsler converted on 1-2 at the line, leaving the door open for a last-second look for Elms.
Jen Normandie got off a three-pointer as time expired, but Lesley senior Cassidy Freed blocked Elms' last-second attempt, keeping the Lynx undefeated in league play.
Murphy turned in a double-double of her own with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Condon added 10 points and four rebounds.
Lesley outrebounded Elms 51-48, more impressive by the fact seniors Caira, Freed and Wechsler all played all 40 minutes. While Lesley shot 35 percent from the field, Caira and the Lynx held the Blazers to a mere 28 percent shooting.
One of two NECC teams atop the league at 2-0 and one of only three undefeated teams in all, Lesley takes four weeks off before returning to play on January 8 in out-of-conference action at Simmons.