NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Kim Weathers poured in 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as visiting Old Westbury held off a late rally by the Lehman Lightning to emerge victorious, 80-72, on Wednesday night at the Monroe Athletic Center at New Roc City.

DeAndra Scott added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the victors while teammate Deslyn Applewhaite chipped in 11 points and nine boards. 

Lehman was led by a relentless Shalaya Nieves, who scored 26 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Alicia McDaniel posted 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and senior Amanda De La Cruz added a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

The cat-quick Weathers was somewhat subdued in the first half, but seemed to find a spark as the half closed, scoring the Panthers final four points to help Old Westbury enter the locker room up 36-29.  Her mini-run continued in the second half, but on a much grander scale.  Beginning with a layup with 17:28 to go, the 5-3 sophomore out of Wyandanch, New York turned on the afterburners, scoring 14 of her team's 20 points as the Panthers built a 56-39 advantage.  Overall, she scored 22 in the game's final 20 minutes.

Old Westbury stretched its lead to 20 on a jumper by Applewhaite with 10:39 left on the clock.

Spurred on by Nieves and De La Cruz, however, the Lightning methodically chopped away at its deficit.  A free throw by Nieves cut the Old Westbury lead to 75-72 with just over a minute left, but Weathers answered the bell on the other end with a basket of her own followed by a big steal to essentially seal the victory for the Panthers.

Wednesday's defeat drops Lehman to 5-7 on the season while Old Westbury climbs back to the .500 mark at 5-5. 

The Lightning does not return to the court until 2012 when it will square off against Polytechnic Institute of New York University on January 4.