Nashua – Tied at 32 at the half, the Daniel Webster women's basketball shot 50-percent in the second half and pulled away down the stretch to post a 72-57 victory over Lasell College in the Eagles' home opener Thursday night at Mario Vagge Gymnasium.
Senior Alycia Gervais (Windham, Conn.) notched her second straight double double with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, added two steals and was 10 for 10 at the line and fellow senior Sarah Paternostro (Glastonbury, Conn.) filled the stat sheet recording 18 points, seven assists, three steals, three blocks and two boards as DWC topped the Lasers (0-1) for the first time since 2001.
Senior Kirsten Murphy (Woodstock, Conn.) tied her career high with 16 points with a nifty 8 for 11 shooting performance, while Jennifer Fredericks (Beacon Falls, Conn.), Allyssa Marson (Bangor, Maine) and Antonina Feola (Simsbury, Conn.) had five points apiece.
Taevasha Rentas (Springfield, Mass.) paced the Lasers with 12 points, six boards and three assists, while Alexis Chappell (Springfield) added 10 points.
Kim Archibald (Lewiston, Maine) added nine points and a team high nine boards (five offensive) along with two assists, two blocks and two steals for Lasell while Danielle Autencio (Montville, Conn.) added eight points and five boards.
The Eagles ultimately won the game at the line as both teams finished close in rebounds (39-38 DWC), shooting, three-pointers, steals and turnovers. DWC finished 18-21 at the stripe, while Lasell struggled, hitting just 6 of 15.
The teams forged three ties and traded leads five times over the opening six minutes of the second half and Lasell led 44-43 with 14:27 left after a Jo Bishop (South Burlington, Vt.) 10-footer. B
But Gervais took over inside, burying two layups, drew two fouls to sink four at the line for a 51-44 edge with 12:15 to go.
Layups from Rentas and Autencio pulled the Lasers back to within three (51-48) with 11:19 to go but two inside from Murphy and two more at the line from Gervais pushed the lead to 57-48, DWC's largest with 9:49 left.
Another Rentas jumper halted the bleeding with 6:22 to go for a 59-52 game, but Fredericks followed with a momentum-swinging three from the top of the arc, and the Eagle defense stiffened, limiting Lasell to just three points over the next 5:08 as the lead ballooned to 15 (70-55) with just under two minutes to go.
Lasell had shot a solid 45-percent in the opening frame while DWC hit 39-percent but the Eagles stayed close going 9 for 9 at the line.
The Eagles are now off until Tuesday when they visit Endicott College in a regional matchup beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Lasell visits Wheaton on Saturday as part of the Wheaton Tip-Off beginning at 2:00 p.m.