CAMBRIDGE, MA – Kaitlyn Wechsler led all players with 21 points and three other seniors recorded nearly identical double-doubles as Lesley remained tied atop the New England Collegiate Conference women's basketball standings with a convincing 62-50 win over third-place Mitchell.
Wechsler's (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy) 21 came on 9-11 shooting, Brianne Caira (Pelham, NH/Pelham) posted 11 points and 12 rebounds, and forwards Cassidy Freed (Brattleboro, VT/Brattleboro Union) and Rachael O'Mara each turned in 11 points and 11 rebounds. All four seniors also totaled four assists, with Caira leading all players with five.
With the win, Lesley returns to the .500 mark on the season and remains tied with Daniel Webster for first place in the conference at 7-0. Mitchell shot just 31 percent in its chance to move into a second-place tied with the Lynx, falling to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in league play.
Lesley led from start to finish, jumping out to a 7-2 lead on a Jenna Fralick (Woburn, MA/Woburn) jumper 3:20 into the game. An 11-1 run midway through the first half featuring three Wechsler layups put the Lynx out in front 20-7. The home team led by as many as 17 in the closing minutes of the half before the Mariners scored six straight, the last four from Allison Peck (Colchester, CT/Bacon) to close out the half trailing 32-21.
Lesley dominated the boards in the first to the tune of a 29-13 rebounding advantage. Ten of Caira's 11 rebounds came before halftime, and the center anchored a rebounding effort that limited Mitchell to one shot on almost every possession, allowing only three Mariners offensive rebounds in the half.
The same defense that held the Mariners to 23 percent first half shooting prevented the visitors from narrowing their 12-point halftime deficit to anything much more manageable, and the team continued to have no answer for Wechsler. Mitchell cut the margin to nine on three occasions in the first 10:00 of the period, and Alix O'Neal made it an eight-point game three other times in the next 4:00. The senior's free throws made it a 49-41 game at the 6:00 mark, but Wechsler and O'Mara scored all nine of Lesley points in a 9-0 run that put the Lynx up 58-41, dashing any hopes of a Mariners comeback.
O'Neal led the Mitchell offense with 17 points, swiping a game-high six steals. Peck and Kaylee Cerruto (Torrington, CT/Torrington) each added 10 points, with Peck taking five steals.
Lesley returns to action tomorrow at Wheelock on the campus of Pine Manor College at 6 p.m. Mitchell travels to Elms on Thursday at 7 p.m.
