MOUNT IDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Athletic Center, Newton, Mass.
FINAL: LASELL 81, MOUNT IDA 70
NEWTON, Mass. -- Seniors Morgan Church (New London, N.H.) and Brianna Hoffman (Milford, N.H.) combined for 45 points and six rebounds to lead Lasell to an 81-70 Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory over Mount Ida Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Center.
The visiting Lasers (5-20, 3-13 GNAC) jumped out to an 18-15 first quarter advantage, and Lasell extended that margin to 10 before settling for a 39-31 edge at the break on the strength of 15 points from Church. The host Mustangs (13-12, 6-10 GNAC) sliced their deficit to four (39-35) in the opening 55 seconds after intermission on a pair of free throws by senior Patricia Liotta (Hampton Bays, N.Y.), but the visitors used a quick 7-0 spurt in 94 seconds to take an 11-point cushion (46-35) on Hoffman's three-pointer.
The Lasers led by as many as 14 points in the third stanza before taking a 62-51 advantage into the final frame, and after Church's three-pointer 21 seconds into the fourth quarter extended Lasell's edge to 15 (66-51), Mount Ida used a 16-5 run over a 6:30 stretch to close back to within four (71-67) on a lay-in by freshman Melody Millett (Naples, Maine) with 3:09 to play. A Church jumper and a Hoffman trey on the two ensuing Laser possessions extended the visitors' lead back to nine with just under two minutes remaining, and Hoffman's fifth three-pointer of the afternoon with 28 seconds to go sealed Lasell's triumph.
Church finished with 26 points, seven assists and three rebounds while playing all 40 minutes in the win for the Lasers, who received 19 points, three assists and three boards from Hoffman. Junior Liz Bougie (Sanford, Maine) chipped in with nine points and five caroms for Lasell, which received eight points and eight rebounds from freshman Meghan Carroll (Douglas, Mass.). Junior Jaime Caron (Derry, N.H.) added seven points and 12 boards on the day for the visitors, who received six points each from junior Taylor Hughey (Redding, Calif.) and freshman Megan Sears (Westminster, Mass.). The Lasers shot 48 percent (30-63) from the field overall and connected for 12 three-pointers on the day (including a combined eight from Hoffman and Church), as Lasell scored 13 points off of 10 turnovers.
Sophomore Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.) notched a double-double effort of a career-high 30 points, 12 rebounds and three steals in the setback for Mount Ida, which received 12 points from Liotta. Senior Jaime Moscato (Taunton, Mass.) added eight points and nine boards for the Mustangs, who received six points from sophomore Alisa Benson (Middletown, R.I.). Senior Imani Bumpus (Dedham, Mass.) scored four points and grabbed seven caroms for the hosts, who received four points and three boards from Millett along with five assists from senior Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.). Mount Ida shot 32 percent (23-70) from the field overall and connected on just 3-of-25 attempts from behind the arc for the contest, as the Mustangs held a 45-40 rebounding advantage and converted 20 offensive boards into 20 second chance points.
Mount Ida is seeded eighth in the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championships and will travel to Standish, Maine on Tuesday afternoon to take on top-seeded Saint Joseph's (Maine) in tournament quarterfinal round action at 5:30 p.m. Today's game marked the season finale for Lasell.