CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A big first half surge from visiting Elms College proved to be too much for Lesley University to overcome as the Blazers sunk the Lynx 69-52 in New England Collegiate Conference action tonight at the Nicholas Athletics Center. The win pushes the Blazers to an even 6-6 on the season and 4-2 in the NECC while the loss drops the Lynx to 3-9 overall and 2-4 in conference play.

Elms senior Alexandra Marques (Newington, Conn.) led the charge for the Blazers with a double-double with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 12 boards to go with four steals. Fellow senior Emily Burr (East Hartford, Conn.) finished with 16 points and four assists while freshman Kayla Soto (New Britain, Conn.) came off the bench for nine points and ten rebounds. Junior Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) added seven points and three dimes for the Blazers.

Freshman Dakota Jones (Torrance, Calif.) registered her seventh double-double of the season with a career-high 20 points to go with a game-best 16 rebounds. Jones finished 7-of-14 from the field and 6-of-11 from the free throw line to go with three blocks and three steals. Senior Emily Meade (Derry, N.H.) matched a career-best with ten points while pulling down six boards and sophomore Abby Henderson (Rochester, N.H.) added nine points and three boards. Freshman Linda Wallentine (Monroe Township, N.J.) finished with eight points while tying a career-high with seven assists.

With the game tied at 4-4 early in the first quarter, the Blazers took control with a 10-0 run ignited by a triple from sophomore Kayla Aberdale (Housatonic, Mass.) to stake a 14-4 lead. Elms would push their lead to 14 points with 5:12 to go in the second half before closing the quarter on an 11-4 streak to stake a 41-20 lead at the half.

The Blazers shot 47% (17-of-36) in the opening half while Marques was nearly unstoppable as she finished the first 20 minutes of play with 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Lynx would go on to outscore their counterparts 32-28 in the second half and dwindle the Elms lead down to 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers big first half was too much to overcome.

Lesley was held to just 35% (21-of-59) shooting on the night while the Blazers hit on 41% (26-of-64) of their shot attempts on the evening. The Blazers forced 26 Lynx turnovers on the night and turned them into 31 points.

Both sides will be back in conference action on Saturday. The Lynx will travel to Mitchell College for a bout with the Mariners at 3:00p while the Blazers will head to Regis College for a 1:00p tip-off with the Pride.