CAMBRIDGE, MA – First-place Lesley stayed undefeated (9-0) in league play, upending the Blazers of Elms College Saturday, 63-53, in New England Collegiate Conference women's basketball play.
Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy) led all scorers with 26 points just two days after she broke the Lesley single-game scoring record Thursday night at Rivier with 33 points in the 75-69 non-conference win.
Rachael O'Mara (Levittown, NY/General Douglas MacArthur) gave Lesley the early lead with a three-pointer, as Lesley jumped out to a 7-2 advantage and would lead from that point on. The Lynx kept up the pace with a 14-0 run to lead 23-7 at the 9:00 mark before the Blazers answered with an 8-2 run to close their deficit to 25-15 with just over 5:00 remaining in the half. Lesley kept their 10-point lead, as an Erika Hill (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) three-pointer capped a 10-2 run to go into halftime ahead 37-21.
The Lynx capitalized from the free throw line in the first half, connecting on 9-12. Wechsler led all scorers with 18 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals. Brianne Caira (Pelham, NH/Pelham) added eight points and seven rebounds for the Lynx, and Elms shot only 17.4 percent in the first half compared to Lesley's 39.4 percent.
Elms' first half scoring was led by Katie Condon (Sandy Hook,CT/Newtown), who had seven points as the Blazers were outrebounded 25-19 in the first.
Lesley came out of the half on a 7-0 run bookended by Caira layups and led comfortably for the entire second period. Elms closed the gap to 13 with 4:17 remaining on a Marisabel Santiago (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) layup, the closest the Blazers had come since late in the first half, and ended the contest on a 7-2 run, but ran out of time in a 63-53 Lynx victory.
The Blazers were lead by junior forward Erika Murphy (Torrington, CT/Torrington) who put up 19 points and took down eight boards. Condon added 11 points and three steals for Elms.
Two Lynx had double- double performances in the contest. Wechsler connected for 26 points and 10 rebounds and Caira contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Cassidy Freed (Brattleboro, VT/ Brattleboro Union) added 10 rebounds and five assists, and freshman Emily Fleming (Somerville, MA/Somerville) added a game-high eight assists.
The first-place Lynx advance to a perfect 9-0 in the NECC, 10-7 overall, and return to action on Tuesday at Daniel Webster with sole possession of first place at stake. Elms falls to 6-12 overall and 4-4 in the NECC and will travel to Wheelock on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score
Elms College vs Lesley University
01/29/10 10 a.m. at Cambridge, MA
At Cambridge, MA
LESLEY UNIVERSITY 63, ELMS COLLEGE 53
ELMS COLLEGE (6-12 (4-4 NECC))
Erika Murphy 6-11 7-8 19; Katie Condon 2-7 7-9 11; Marisabel Santiago 3-6
0-0 7; Jen Normandie 2-7 2-2 6; Nicolette Martin 2-5 0-0 4; Erin Broughton
0-1 2-2 2; Ellen Donohue 0-7 2-2 2; Emily Boucher 1-5 0-0 2; Maryanne
Overmyer 0-1 0-2 0; Taylor Darby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-51 20-25 53.
LESLEY UNIVERSITY (10-7 (9-0 NECC))
Kaitlyn Wechsler 10-13 6-8 26; Brianne Caira 7-16 1-1 15; Rachael O'Mara
4-17 1-1 10; Cassidy Freed 2-2 0-1 4; Emily Fleming 1-7 0-0 3; Erika Hill
1-1 0-0 3; Jenna Fralick 0-4 2-2 2; Samantha Olivieri 0-1 0-0 0; Jennie
Vallesio 0-0 0-0 0; Sherrey Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Emily Whitney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
25-62 10-13 63.
Elms College.................. 21 32 - 53
Lesley University............. 37 26 - 63
3-point goals--Elms College 1-7 (Marisabel Santiago 1-3; Katie Condon 0-1;
Nicolette Martin 0-1; Ellen Donohue 0-1; Emily Boucher 0-1), Lesley
University 3-14 (Emily Fleming 1-4; Erika Hill 1-1; Rachael O'Mara 1-8;
Kaitlyn Wechsler 0-1). Fouled out--Elms College-None, Lesley
University-None. Rebounds--Elms College 36 (Erika Murphy 8), Lesley
University 42 (Cassidy Freed 10; Brianne Caira 10; Kaitlyn Wechsler 10).
Assists--Elms College 9 (Taylor Darby 2; Emily Boucher 2; Jen Normandie 2),
Lesley University 22 (Emily Fleming 8). Total fouls--Elms College 17, Lesley
University 16. Technical fouls--Elms College-None, Lesley University-None.
A-62
