CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University women's basketball team split the season series against Mitchell College following a 74-40 loss in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action, Saturday afternoon. Junior guard Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) came off the bench to net a game-high 21 points in 33 minutes for the Lynx.
Lesley drops to 7-16 on the season and 5-11 in conference play while Mitchell, who pushes their win-streak to five games, improves to 10-13 and 10-3 in the NECC.
Mitchell came out of the get strong. Sophomore forward Alexandra Kolb (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) capped off a 7-2 run to open the contest with a lay-up in the paint midway through the first quarter. However, the Lynx were not going to go away quietly. First year forward Dakota Jones (Torrance, Calif.) pulled the Lynx to within two points, 7-5, with a lay-up then converted the three point play.
Utilizing a 5-0 run of their own towards the end of the first period, the Mariners pushed their lead to five, 12-7. Mitchell was nearly perfect from the free-throw line in the first period but the Lynx battled valiantly to keep it a two possession, 16-12, game heading into the second quarter.
While the first quarter was tight barn-burner, the second quarter was just the opposite. The Mariners began to pull away edging out the Lynx 16-7 in the second period. Junior guard Ashleigh Beauford (Newington, Conn.) led the way with five points while first year guard Allegra Jones (New Haven, Conn.) came off the bench to record five points as Mitchell took a seven-point, 32-25, lead into the locker room.
When the two teams emerged from the locker room at the beginning of the second half, the Mariners did not let up, keeping their foot on the accelerator. Kolb and senior guard Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Conn.) combined to score 15 of the Mariner's 25 points in the third quarter as they outscored the Lynx, 25-11 and took a 57-36 into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, the Lynx continued to show fight. Playing all 10 minutes of the quarter, Pereira led way netting 10 points but it was not enough as the Mariner offense proved to be too much as they cruised to the 74-40 victory.
Shepherd led four Mariners in double figures, shooting 60% from the field for 17 points while Kolb and Beauford were not far behind netting 12 and 11 points, respectively. Jones rounded out the Mariners scorers in double digits tallying 11 points in 16 minutes of the bench .
Lesley's Dakota Jones followed up Pereira netting five points while senior center Emily Meade (Derry, N.H.) recorded four points for the Lynx.
The Lynx will be back in action on Tuesday February 14th when they host NECC foe Regis College at 8:00 p.m. The Mariners will also be in action Tuesday evening hosting Newbury College at 7:00 p.m.