CAMBRIDGE, MA – Lesley University overcame a double-digit deficit to force a tie late in the second half but fell to visiting Southern Vermont 54-48 Friday night in New England Collegiate Conference women's basketball play.
Lesley guard Emily Fleming (Medford, MA/Medford) led all players with 16 points, and forward Katherine Bradley's (Colchester, CT/Bacon) added a career-high 12.
For the Mountaineers (7-14, 6-8 NECC), Joe Clarcius (Clermont, FL/East Ridge) recorded the game's only double-double with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and Alyssa Davis (West Burke, VT/Lyndon Institute) led the team with 14 points. Seniors Sherrita Hall (Temple Hill, MD/Potomac) and Ashliy Veliz's (Glendale, CA/Glendale) added 10 rebounds each as Southern Vermont used a 67-46 advantage on the boards to earn a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points in holding on for the win.
Four different Mountaineers combined on a 10-2 run to start the contest, with Veliz's second layup forcing a Leah Lipschitz timeout prior to the 15:00 mark. Fleming put a stop to the run at 16-2, scoring the first five points of a 7-0 run that pulled the Lynx to within seven at 16-9.
Inside the 6:00 mark of the half, two jumpers from Carrie Fieger (Simsbury, CT/Suffield Academy) and a Sherrey Smith (Belmont, NH/Belmont) free throw cut the Southern Vermont lead to 23-19. The Mountaineers extended the lead back to 11, but a Fleming jumper and Bradley's third inside jumper of the half made it a 33-26 game at the half.
Lesley reestablished its momentum in the second half, but not until a Clarcius bucket found the Lynx down 41-30 at the 13:00 mark. At that point, five different scored in the team's 11-0 run that knotted the contest at 41-41 inside the 7:00 mark. Shauna Poole (Lyndonville, NH/Lyndonville Academy) and Veliz responded with back-to-back layups to go up 45-41, a lead that would hold the rest of the game.
Fleming drove to the hole for a layup that brought the Lynx back to within two, but the Lynx couldn't force another tie, falling to 0-19 (0-13 NECC) on the season.
Lesley plays host to Mitchell College Tuesday night, when the Mountaineers travel to Elms College.
