Rhode Island College defeats Lasell Women’s Basketball

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sophomore forward Ornela Livramento (Pawtucket, R.I.) scored a career-high 26 points and collected a game-high 13 rebounds Thursday evening to lead Rhode Island College to a 58-51 victory over Lasell College in non-conference women's basketball action at The Murray Center.

The Lasers trailed by 16 points heading into the fourth quarter before staging a rally, pulling to within five points with four and a half minutes to play. The comeback fell short as RIC pulled out the victory on Senior Night. RIC improves to 9-15 on the season while Lasell drops to 4-20.

Senior guard Morgan Church (New London, N.H.) led the visitors with 17 points, while freshman forward Meghan Carroll (Douglas, Mass.) pitched in with 13 points and nine boards.

RIC jumped out to a 13-0 lead through the first 5:27 of the first quarter, paced by a pair of three-pointers by freshman Brooke Young (West Warwick, R.I.) and a longball from senior Jessa Rubera (Newton, Mass.). The Lasers scored their first points on a pair of free throws with 3:56 left. RIC junior Margaret McCaffrey (East Greenwich, R.I.) sank a three at the 2:05 mark as RIC went into the first intermission up by 10, 16-6.

Lasell opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run, which was highlighted by a trey from junior Taylor Hughey (Redding, Calif.). RIC responded with a 5-0 run of its own to lead by 10, 21-11, with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. Six points in the final minute by Livramento staked RIC to a 29-17 advantage at halftime.

RIC led by 16, 35-19, with 7:04 left in the third before the visitors embarked on an 11-3 run to close the deficit to eight, 38-30, at the 3:42 mark. Sophomore Dana Ross (East Haven, Conn.) sparked the rally, and seniors Brianna Hoffman (Milford, N.H.) and Church added three and six points, respectively, during the run. Five points from Livramento and a Young trifecta built the host's lead back up to 16, 46-30, at the third-quarter break.

The Lasers got within five points, 52-47, on a steal and layup by Church with 4:42 left in the game. Church had nine points in the Lasell 17-6 run, and Carroll contributed five points and Hoffman hit a three, but two free throws by McCaffrey and a layup by Livramento put the Anchorwomen back up by nine to secure the win.

Lasell wraps up its campaign Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game at Mount Ida College, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

(Courtesy of Rhode Island College Sports Information)

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