Big First-Half Propels Gators to Win Over Lasell
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- Pine Manor took a 39-12 lead into the half and never looked back, as the Gators defeated Lasell College 66-48 on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at Pine Manor Gymnasium in Chestnut Hill, MA. Senior Enjolee Phillips led the Gators with 13 points, while two other players also scored in double-figures for Pine Manor, who picked up its third Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season and improved its overall record to 6-13 (3-6 GNAC).
February 8, 2011
Miles Roberts
Pine Manor Athletic Communications
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- Pine Manor took a 39-12 lead into the half and never looked back, as the Gators defeated Lasell College 66-48 on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at Pine Manor Gymnasium in Chestnut Hill, MA. Senior Enjolee Phillips led the Gators with 13 points, while two other players also scored in double-figures for Pine Manor, who picked up its third Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season and improved its overall record to 6-13 (3-6 GNAC).
Pine Manor found itself locked in a close battle five minutes
in to the first-half, as Lasell cut the lead to 8-6 following a
jumper by sophomore Ashley Slattery (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth). From
that point the Gators would go on a 12-2 run, capped by a lay-up
from junior Paulette Wright (Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough) with 5:46
remaining in the first. Wright finished with a double-double, 12
points and 11 rebounds, off the bench for Pine Manor. While
sophomore Tia Nelson (Rockport, MA/ Rockport) contributed 12 points
of her own, knocking down two three-pointers and shooting 4-8 from
the field.
Pine Manor would continue to stretch its lead in the closing
minutes of the first half, as the Gators outscored Lasell
19-4 run in the final five minutes of the first. Following a
lay-up by Lasell’s Katie Farr (Rindge, NH/Conant), the Gators
went on a 10-0 run to take a 39-12 lead in to the locker room at
halftime.
“I’m really pleased with tonight’s
effort,” said Pine Manor Head Coach Alex Gould following
Tuesday’s game. “This was a good bounce back for us in
a couple of ways. Last year they beat us at their place and this
weekend we had a tough loss— so to come back and get a win is
huge for us.”
The win also came at an important time for the Gators, as the
race for the final spots in the GNAC playoffs are headed down to
the wire. With Pine Manor’s third conference victory of the
season, the Gators are still in the hunt for a GNAC playoff
spot.
“We’ve got some work to do next week in the GNAC,
but this is a good win for us in a lot of ways,” said
Gould.
Despite trailing big at the half, Lasell came out in the
second determined to get back in to the game. The Lasers cut a
27-point halftime deficit to 20, seven minutes in to the
second-half.
Despite a game-high 22 points from sophomore forward Kim
Archibald (Lewiston, ME/Lewiston), the Lasers were never able to
catch Pine Manor in the second-half. Archibald also registered a
double-double as she pulled in 12 rebounds for Lasell, who
outscored the Gators 36-27 in the second session. Lasell
would get no closer than a 15-point deficit, following a shot by
Archibald that made the score 50-35 with 8:28 remaining. With the
loss, Lasell drops to 1-20 on the season (0-9 GNAC).
The Gators established a 51-40 rebounding advantage in the
game and held Lasell to under 30% shooting, 18.5% in the
first-half. Despite only scoring 5 points, PMC Junior Therline
Dumeran (Cambridge,MA/Cambridge Rindge) led all players with 14
rebounds, and registered 4 assists and 7 steals for the Gators.
Junior Yafia Dowridge (White Plains, NY/Woodlands) also had 9
points for Pine Manor.
The Gators will now take on the College of New Rochelle, this
Saturday February 12 at 1:00 p.m. The game will be the final
non-conference game of the season for Pine Manor, before the Gators
finish the GNAC regular season with three games in five days,
beginning Tuesday February, 15 at Mount Ida.
