CAMBRIDGE, MA -- A balanced team effort led once again by senior Kaitlyn Wechsler fueled Lesley in its 61-36 victory over Bay Path on Pink Zone night in Cambridge.
Wechsler (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy) paced the Lynx with 16 points on 7-10 shooting as Lesley improved to 12-10, 11-4 in New England Collegiate Conference play.
Bay Path's Brittany Alexander (Enfield, CT/Fermi) led all players with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Justine Hook (Berwick, PA/Columbia-Montour) added 11 points, five boards and four assists for the Wildcats.
A Hook runner in the paint tied the contest 2-2 before Lesley's Rachael O'Mara (Levittown, NY/General Douglas MacArthur) connected on a pair of long jumpers that ignited an 11-0 run. The Lynx led by double-figures from there on out, with nine players either scoring or assisting on a first-half field goal as Lesley took a 29-15 lead into halftime.
Bay Path shot 33 percent from the field, while Lesley shot 37.5 percent for the frame. Lesley was lead by Wechsler's seven points at half, and Cassidy Freed (Brattleboro, VT/ Brattleboro Union) led the team with six rebounds in the period.
Alexander led all scorers with half of her 18 in the first.
Lesley started the second half on an 11-2 run that was ended at 14:38 with a pair of Alexander free throws. Wechsler connected on a lay-up to give the Lynx a 27-point lead at the 10:00 mark as Lesley cruised to a 61-36 victory, snapping its three-game slide.
The win marked a number of highs for the Lynx, foremost in the ball handling department, where the team earned a season-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 21-to-9. On the individual level, Jennie Vallesio (Somerville, MA/Somerville) scored a season-high nine points on 4-7 shooting, and Erika Hill (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) threw in a season-best six points in 13 minutes.
Today also marked Lesley's Pink Zone game in which the Lynx breast cancer awareness, taking donations for the WBCA/Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Lesley returns to the hardwood against Wheelock on Tuesday, when Bay Path plays host to Mitchell.
