THE BASICS 
Lesley University, 64 at UMaine Presque Isle, 71

Records: 
Lesley University Lynx (5-7, 1-2 NAC)
UMaine Presque Isle Owls (2-7, 1-2 NAC) 

Location: Presque Isle, Maine-Wieden Gymnasium

Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2025

THE LEAD –  In its first game back from winter break, the Lesley University women's basketball team fell in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action at UMaine Presque Isle (UMPI), 71-64 Tuesday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Owls raced out to an early 9-2 lead in the first quarter after Alexis Ireland tipped in her own miss. However, Lesley clawed back and pulled within two (9-7) behind a Leila Chisholm (Santa Barbara, Calif.) layup and Savannah Gravitt (Richmond Hill, Ga.) three. 
• As the quarter went on, UMPI pulled ahead by four (13-9) with 1:10 remaining in the opening frame, but Lesley once again would pull within two with 51 seconds left after an Alawnah Dunda (Fort Ann, N.Y.) layup. Despite trimming the deficit to two, UMPI grabbed a four-point (15-11) lead right before the quarter ended, thanks to an Anira Ayala lay-in. 
• Early in the second quarter, UMPI held a six-point advantage (17-11), but even with a significant lead, the Lynx stormed back and grabbed their first lead of the contest (25-22) thanks to a 14-5 run which led to an Owls timeout. Ahidali DeHuelbes (Tucson, Ariz.) and Chisholm led the Lesley offense during the run with five points apiece. 
• Coming out of the break, Lesley grabbed its largest lead of the quarter thanks to a Dehuelbes tip-in that made it 31-27 with 3:29 until halftime. Despite the lead, the hosts pulled back ahead (32-31) with 2:23 left in the quarter and would ultimately take a 38-34 lead going into halftime. 
• With the third quarter underway, UMPI held an early 42-37 lead after Ireland knocked down one of her two free throws. However, Lesley responded the next possession with a Gravitt three that made it a two-point game (42-40) with 7:01 left in the quarter. 
• As the third went on, the hosts were able to keep Lesley at bay and even led by as much as six points (46-40). However, even with the six-point lead, the Lynx pushed back and tied the game at 46 with 1:33 left. As the quarter came to a close, both sides traded baskets before Ireland made a layup that gave UMPI a two-point lead (50-48) going into the fourth. 
• UMPI kicked off the fourth quarter with an early six-point lead (54-48), but as the final frame went on, Lesley pulled within two (57-55) behind a 7-3 rally highlighted by four points from Bella Terry (El Cajon, Calif.) before a Lynx timeout. 
• After the timeout, both sides played hard back and forth with less than five minutes remaining in the contest (4:37), the Owls would go up by five (62-57) after two Ayala free throws. Even with the late lead, DeHuelbes would get Lesley within two (62-60) with 3:40 remaining before the Owls called their own timeout. Coming out of the break, UMPI would end up closing out the remainder of the contest behind a 9-2 spurt for the eventual 71-64 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Chisholm led the way with a season-high 17 points and also swiped a career-high seven steals.
• Lesley's two other double-figure scorers were DeHuelbes, who tied her career-best with 14 points, and Terry, who scored 11. 
• Terry finished with a team-high 10 rebounds on the night. She has now posted nine double-doubles on the year. 
• In her collegiate debut, Aaliyah Wilburn (Derby, Vt.) finished with two points and brought down seven rebounds. 
• Ireland led all scorers on the night with 21 points and grabbed a game-high 23 boards.  

UP NEXT

• Lesley returns home for an NAC matchup versus Maine Maritime Academy starting at 5:30 p.m.