BENNINGTON, Vt. – Southern Vermont College dropped a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball home game Wednesday night—falling 66-49 to Lesley University at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
The Lynx went into the halftime break ahead 38-24 before finishing off the victory in the final 20 minutes to split the season series.
The Mountaineers (3-16, 2-8 NECC) now turn their sites to a 4 p.m. Saturday league game at Wheelock College while LU (3-13, 3-5 NECC) visits Becker College the same day for a 1 p.m. start.
SVC junior Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) notched her 10th double-double of the season as she tied the team-high of 13 points while snagging a game-best 17 rebounds; she also had six assists, two steals, and two blocks in the effort. Sophomore Dani Biggers (Broadalbin, N.Y.) also had 13 points in addition to seven boards, and freshman Brenna Hudson (Malone, N.Y.) registered 12 points, six rebounds, and three steals for the Mountaineers.
Lesley sophomore Dakota Jones (Torrance, Calif.) scored 16 points while pulling down a team-best 15 rebounds for the double-double, and freshman Elizabeth Portante (Littleton, Mass.) recorded another 16 points, five rebounds, and three steals in the win.
LU shot 42.4 percent (28-66) from the floor while Southern Vermont went 18-60 (30 percent) from field goal range. SVC hit five 3-pointers to Lesley's two, but the Lynx outscored the hosts 38-24 in the paint. The visitors had a slight 43-39 edge in rebounds, and they posted a 24-10 upper hand in points off turnovers.
The Mountaineers held a slim lead off the jump, but the Lynx came back with eight unanswered to take a lead they would hold onto through the final horn. Another 8-0 Lesley run, which included four points from both Portante and Jones, stretched into the second quarter before an LU triple with 5:08 to go in the half made it a 31-13 ballgame. Biggers answered with a trey of her own, and the teams then swapped baskets until the intermission.
Lesley slowly opened it up to a 54-32 lead through the third, but the hosts used the long ball to keep the separation from getting bigger than that; three of SVC's four scores in the period came from beyond the arc—Biggers hitting a pair while junior captain Kayla Emmi (Syracuse, N.Y.) drilled one of her own. Although Main got into a quick groove to tally seven of her points and help Southern Vermont outscore the Lynx in the final 10 minutes, it would not be enough as Lesley was able to answer most of the Mountaineers' baskets and walk out with the win.
– #LetsGoSVC –