Big First-Half Propels Gators to Win Over Lasell

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.