NEW LONDON, Conn. – Lesley University sophomore Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) poured in a career-high 12 points but is was not enough as host Mitchell College downed the Lynx 67-36 this afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball action. The Mariners exercised a balanced attack that saw 11 different players register points and used a big second quarter to pull away from the Lynx to notch their sixth straight victory.
Goggin played a game-high 34 minutes and added three rebounds to her line on the day to pace the Lynx while senior Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) joined Goggin in double-figures for the visitors, adding ten points to go with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Freshman Abby Henderson (Rochester, N.H.) also registered a new career-high with eight points while corralling four rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists.
Mitchell senior Samantha Ryan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) came off the bench and knocked down all seven of her shot attempts to lead all players with 14 points and seven boards. Junior Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Conn.) added nine points for the Mariners while senior Savannah Boyle (Attleboro, Mass.) and senior Toshina Jessamy (Hartford, Conn.) each finished with seven points, all in reserve duty. The Mitchell bench outscored Lesley's reserves by a 54-8 margin.
A Boyle triple capped an 8-2 run over the opening 6:21 of the first quarter before the Lynx offense started to get in gear. A Henderson jumper put a stop to the Mitchell spurt and ignited a 7-2 streak for the Lynx culminating in a Goggin trey as the guests evened the score at 9-9.
Shepherd would hit from deep to reclaim a three-point edge for the hosts before senior Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) knocked down a free throw to give the Mariners a 13-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Mariners would explode in the second quarter, outscoring the Lynx by a 26-9 margin. Boyle and Shepherd combined to score six unanswered points out of the gate for the hosts as part of a 16-2 run that created a 29-11 lead for the hosts. Lesley would interrupt the Mitchell run with a quick 7-6 spurt capped by a layup from Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.), but the Mariners would score the final four points of the half to head into the locker room leading 39-18.
Mitchell would keep their foot on the gas pedal, building a lead by as many as 33 points in the second half to cruise to the win.
The Mariners outrebounded the Lynx by a 54-36 margin and turned 25 Lesley turnovers into 28 points. The hosts also held a 24-6 advantage in points in the paint and shot 36% (25-of-69) on the day while holding their counterparts to just 27% (15-of-55) on their attempts from the field.
The Lynx will wrap up their 2015-16 road schedule on Tuesday when they head to Regis College at 6:00p before heading home to celebrate Senior Night on Thursday against Bay Path University at 8:00p. The Mariners will also be on the road on Tuesday when they travel to Brookline, Mass. to battle Newbury College at 7:00p.