Women’s Basketball Uses Stingy Defense to Secure GNAC Road Victory

Newton, MA – The Lasell College women's basketball team used outstanding defense and rebounding to narrowly edge GNAC foe Anna Maria College, 55-53 on Saturday afternoon in Paxton, Mass. With the game tied at 53-53, Lasell junior Kim Archibald(Lewiston, ME) sank the go-ahead lay-up with 1:19 remaining in the contest. After an Anna Maria missed three pointer, and a pair of Lasell missed free throws, AMC had one final opportunity to even the score. Anna Maria's Samantha Ashton(Worcester, MA) had her driving lay-up blocked by Lasell freshmen Danielle Autencio(Montville, CT) who corralled  the ball off her own block as time ran out. Lasell held Anna Maria to 29.5% shooting from the field on the day, and out rebounded the hosts by a 50-30 margin.

Archibald led the way for Lasell, posting a double-double effort scoring 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Danielle Autencio scored nine points and pulled down a game high 15 rebounds, while Kayla Vincelette(Westport, MA) added 10 points off the bench. Chelsea Blair(Holland, MA) led a trio of AMC players in double figures with 14 points, as Liz Sama(Windsor, CT) and Samantha Ashton chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively.

Anna Maria jumped out to a 9-2 advantage in the opening three minutes of the contest, only to see Lasell battle back over the next seven minutes, eventually tying the game at 13-13 with ten minutes remaining in the opening half. The lead changed hands six times over the remainder of the opening half, with Anna Maria taking a two point lead into the break, courtesy of a Liz Sama lay-in right before the halftime horn.

The second half was tight the entire way, featuring three ties and three lead changes, and no team holding more than a five point advantage. Lasell held the biggest lead of the half, 47-42 with 7:45 remaining before a 7-2 run by Anna Maria tied the game at 49-49 with 5:15 remaining. A Chelsea Blair three point play with 2:36 left in the game tied the score at 53 all, and set the stage for the heroics by Archibald and Autencio.

The win improves Lasell to 3-15 overall and 3-5 in GNAC play, while Anna Maria falls to 5-14 on the year and 1-7 in GNAC contests. Lasell will return to action on Wednesday February 1^st at 7pm, when they travel to Johnson and Wales, while Anna Maria will host Trinity University on Tuesday January 31^st at 7pm.