NEWTON, Mass. – A thunderous second half powered Mount Ida College past Lesley University 71-38 in non-conference women's basketball action tonight at the Mount Ida Athletic Center. The win was the first of the season for the Mustangs as the hosts moved to 1-3 with the win while the Lynx fell to 0-2 on the young season.
The Lynx held a slim 22-20 edge with two minutes to go in the first half, but the Mustangs closed out the first twenty minutes with an 8-0 run before opening the second half with an 11-0 spurt powered by two straight triples by freshman Trish Liotta (Hampton Bays, N.Y.).
Liotta knocked down 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line to finish with 13 points off the bench while sophomore Stephanie Champoux (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the Mustangs with 16 points and five steals. Iamni Bumpus (West Hartford, Conn.) added 12 points for the hosts.
Lynx senior Grace Amato (Sharon, Vt.) led all players with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds. Fellow senior Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, including eight off the offensive glass, while dishing out four assists. Freshman Kerry Flaherty (Woburn, Mass.) chipped in with five points and eight boards while classmate Kelsey Lynch (Rumford, R.I.) finished with four points and six rebounds. Junior Jackie Ewing (Hong Kong, China) finished with six points, four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.
The Mustangs had a 43-38 edge on the glass, helped by 11 rebounds from sophomore center Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.).
All ten players that took the floor for Mount Ida had at least one assist, including three apiece from Liotta and Crosby, as the Mustangs piled up 19 assists on 27 made baskets.
Lesley falls to 0-2 on the year and will look to regroup next Tuesday night when they venture to another Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) team in Simmons College at 7:00 pm. The Mustangs hit the road on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Nashua, N.H. for a 1:00 pm meeting with the Eagles of Daniel Webster College.