CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Freshman guard Shannon Baker (Lynbrook, NY) netted a game-high 17 points to lead the Lesley University women's basketball team to a 58-49 victory over host Wheelock College this evening in a New England Collegiate Conference contest at Brunelli Court on the campus of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, MA. The Wildcats fall to 2-17 overall and 2-10 in NECC play, while the Lynx improve to 3-15 and 2-10.
Lesley's defense held Wheelock to just 24.1% (15-66) shooting, including 17.9% (5-28) in the first half.
Junior Randi Davis (Wilmington, MA) converted a layup on a feed from sophomore point guard Cathryn Fernandes (Hudson, NH) at the 19:04 mark of the second half to pull the Wildcats to within 27-26, but it was as close as they would get for the game. The helper was the 67th of the season for Fernandes to break Erin Reardon's Wheelock record for assists in a season, set during the 2007-08 campaign. She finished with five assists for the game and now has 68 on the year. The Lynx pulled away with a 13-2 run, fueled by nine points from Baker, to take a 40-28 lead with 15:26 to play in the game. Lesley held off the Wildcats, who got no closer than nine points for the rest of the night. Senior forward Keneisha Milton (Boston, MA/Wayland HS) sank a pair of free throws with 4:19 remaining in the contest to cut the deficit to 53-44 for Wheelock, but Lesley scored five of the next six points to take its largest advantage of the game at 58-45 with 2:25 left in the half. Senior guard Sarah McCaffrey (East Taunton, MA) scored the last points of the contest with a pair of free throws for Wheelock coming with 31 ticks left to set the final at 58-49.
The Lynx jumped out to an 8-1 cushion in the first five minutes of the game and later maintained a 20-10 margin with 10:16 showing in the first half. The Wildcats put together a 10-2 stretch, capped by a layup from freshman forward Kelsey Becker (Hanover, MA), to pull them to within 22-20 with 2:29 to play in the opening period. Lesley closed out the half by scoring five of the final six points to take a 27-21 halftime lead.
Baker knocked down four three-pointers on the night for the Lynx and added four rebounds, five assists and three steals in 24 minutes of action, while freshman guard Ari Dimou (Manchester, NH) finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds in addition to four assists and a steal. Sophomore forward Kaleigh Gorman (East Setauket, NY) chipped in with 10 points, three boards, two assists and a steal off the bench and sophomore forward Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, MA) pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds to go with six points, two assists and a blocked shot.
Milton finished with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead Wheelock and added four assists and six steals. Davis contributed with 10 points, six boards and steal, while Becker scored eight points, grabbed 11 rebounds, came up with three steals and blocked a pair of shots. Fernandes ended the evening with four points, six rebounds and a steal.
The Wildcats will be in action again on Saturday, February 2 when they travel to Nashua, NH to take on NECC foe Daniel Webster College at 1:00 p.m., while Lesley hosts Becker College at the Nicholas Athletic Center on the campus of Buckingham, Browne and Nichols on the same day at 1:00 p.m.