BENNINGTON, Vt. – After being tied at halftime and leading by just five going into the fourth quarter, the visiting Lesley University Lynx downed Southern Vermont College 64-49 Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
SVC was up three after the first 10-minute period, but the Lynx erased that deficit through the next stanza to send the game to halftime even at 28-28. Lesley went up by five through the third quarter, and the visitors then upped their separation to 15 in the final period.
Southern Vermont (1-5, 1-2 NECC) heads to New England College on Tuesday for its next game, that non-conference tilt set to start at 7 p.m. LU (2-4, 2-1 NECC) is at home on Wednesday in its next contest, hosting Saint Joseph College of Connecticut at 8 p.m.
The win is the first for Lesley against Southern Vermont since the 2013-14 season, making SVC's all-time series lead 10-7 after Saturday. The two sides will meet up once again in the second game of the Conference series on Saturday, January 28.
Mountaineer senior captain Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) reached the 20-point plateau for the first time in her career, notching exactly that many to lead all players while adding six rebounds and three steals to her line. Classmate Abbi Molner (Wilmington, Vt.) followed with 11 points, five boards and a pair of assists while junior Chloe Longe (Enosburg Falls, Vt.) chalked up seven rebounds and a career-best seven assists. Freshman Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) had nine points and eight boards in the effort.
A pair of Lynx registered team-highs of 14 points, freshman Kylie Lounder (Belchertown, Mass.) doing it with 34 minutes off the start while classmate Linda Wallentine (Monroe Township, N.J.) achieved it in 30 minutes off the bench; Lounder also pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds to go with her four assists, and Wallentine added three assists and two steals to her day. Fellow freshman Dakota Jones (Torrance, Calif.) notched 11 points and 12 rebounds for ther fifth double-double of the season while making four steals and three assists. Junior Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) tallied 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals for Lesley.
LU shot 33.8 percent (27-80) from the floor during the afternoon while SVC connected on 18-of-58 (31 percent) of its field goals. The Lynx had a 53-45 edge in rebounds while outscoring the Mountaineers 23-8 in points off turnovers.
Lesley grabbed 11 offensive boards in the opening period, but Southern Vermont was able to knock down four triples during that time for a slight upper hand. A Poirier three made it a 6-0 Mountaineer lead off the jump before Dow and sophomore captain Kayla Emmi (Syracuse, N.Y.) tallied back-to-back baskets from downtown to help SVC go up 13-6. Molner got a layup to go with 2:03 left for the Mountaineers' biggest lead of the night (18-10), but Lesley was able to chip away with a 6-1 run to close out the quarter and go into the second down 19-16.
Dow started the scoring of the next frame by swinging around the top of the arc and dropping another three-pointer, only to see the Lynx come back with six unanswered points. Wallentine then spotted up and knocked down a trey to put her team on top 25-23 as the teams went back-and-forth. Buckets were traded down the stretch before a scoreless final 1:22 of the quarter sent the game to halftime tied 28-28.
Lesley pulled in front with the first three scores of the third period, Pereira putting down five points for her team to go up by seven. Lounder hit a three to make it a 39-30 LU upper hand, but Molner connected on back-to-back SVC possessions to get the hosts back within five. Pereira swished home a trey from just to the left of the top of the perimeter, only to see Dow answer with a three of her own on the ensuing trip down the floor. Poirier then dropped another basket from the outside with 17 ticks on the clock, making it a 45-40 Lynx edge going to the final quarter.
That was where LU pulled away for the win, outscoring SVC by 10 in the final frame for its second league win of the year. A Lounder three sparked an 11-0 run for the visitors to start the stanza-- three other Lynx getting in on the scoring during that stretch. Consecutive Southern Vermont scores from Dow and Longe made it a 58-47 Lesley advantage with 3:02 to go, but that would be the closest that the Mountaineers could get the rest of the way as the Lynx finished off the victory.
Release Courtesy Southern Vermont Athletic Communications