CAMBRIDGE, MA – Rachael O'Mara sure saved her best for last.
Behind another scorching night from the senior small forward, Lesley secured a first place finish in the New England Collegiate Conference with a 62-49 victory over Daniel Webster in NECC women's basketball play Saturday evening.
O'Mara (Levittown, NY/General Douglas MacArthur) led all players with game-highs of 30 points and 10 rebounds, celebrating Senior Night with her second-straight 30-point outing. Fellow senior Cassidy Freed (Brattleboro, NH/Brattleboro) also pulled down 10 boards and tied a Lynx record with nine blocks as Lesley secured the rights to host next weekend's NECC Championship.
The Eagles stormed out to a 5-0 lead on an Alyssa Regan (Salem, NH/Salem) layup, but Lesley answered with a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of Brianne Caira (Pelham, NH/Pelham) layups. Daniel Webster regained the lead on a Kirsten Murphy (Woodstock, VT/Woodstock Union) layup and went up 22-17 at the 7:00 mark after a pair of Murphy free throws capped a 7-0 Eagles run.
Another Murphy layup gave Daniel Webster its largest lead of the half at 34-25 with under 90 seconds left, but O'Mara answered with a layup to make it a 34-29 game at the break.
Lesley shot over 52 percent in the second half and over 71 percent (5-7) from downtown for the frame, erasing the Eagles lead and cruising into first place. A pair of O'Mara three-pointers were the difference makers, as she erased what was a seven-point second half deficit to put the Lynx on top 47-46 at the 9:48 mark. Trailing by two, another O'Mara triple regained the Lynx the lead at 50-49 with 6:00 remaining.
That started an 11-0 run on which the Lynx ended the game, holding Daniel Webster scoreless over the final 7:07.
For Lesley, senior Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy), the NECC's leading scorer at 18 points per game, came to life down the stretch, scoring six points in the pivotal 11-0 run and adding 10 of her 13 points in the second half.
Murphy, Regan and Alycia Gervais (Windham, CT/Windham) led the Eagles with nine points a piece, with Gervias tying for game-high honors with 10 rebounds.
Lesley will now host the NECC Tournament, with the semifinal round to be played Friday night and the championship game Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score
Daniel Webster vs Lesley University
02/19/11 6:00 p.m. at Cambridge, MA
At Cambridge, MA
LESLEY UNIVERSITY 62, DANIEL WEBSTER 49
DANIEL WEBSTER (15-10 (9-7 NECC))
Alycia Gervais 3-13 3-3 9; Kirsten Murphy 3-6 3-6 9; Alyssa Regan 4-12 1-2
9; Sarah Clark 3-3 2-4 8; Vanessa Bosques 1-9 2-2 5; Sarah Paternostro 2-11
0-0 4; Tonisha Tate 1-6 1-2 3; Ariel Guzman 1-4 0-0 2; Kacie Lang 0-3 0-0 0.
Totals 18-67 12-19 49.
LESLEY UNIVERSITY (15-10(13-3 NECC))
Rachael O'Mara 9-21 8-10 30; Kaitlyn Wechsler 5-8 3-4 13; Emily Fleming 2-5
2-4 7; Cassidy Freed 0-2 6-6 6; Brianne Caira 3-7 0-0 6; Samantha Olivieri
0-0 0-0 0; Jenna Fralick 0-2 0-0 0; Erika Hill 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 19-24
62.
Daniel Webster................ 34 15 - 49
Lesley University............. 29 33 - 62
3-point goals--Daniel Webster 1-12 (Vanessa Bosques 1-4; Sarah Paternostro
0-2; Ariel Guzman 0-1; Kacie Lang 0-2; Alycia Gervais 0-3), Lesley
University 5-8 (Rachael O'Mara 4-5; Emily Fleming 1-2; Cassidy Freed 0-1).
Fouled out--Daniel Webster-None, Lesley University-None. Rebounds--Daniel
Webster 39 (Alycia Gervais 10), Lesley University 44 (Rachael O'Mara 10;
Cassidy Freed 10). Assists--Daniel Webster 12 (Ariel Guzman 4; Sarah
Paternostro 4), Lesley University 15 (Emily Fleming 7). Total fouls--Daniel
Webster 16, Lesley University 16. Technical fouls--Daniel Webster-None,
Lesley University-None. A-314
