BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College women's basketball team outscored Lesley University in each quarter Tuesday night to earn a 57-42 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) win at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

SVC took just a 19-15 edge into the halftime break, but the hosts were able to garner some extra separation in the final 20 minutes to sweep the season series with the Lynx.

Southern Vermont (6-15, 4-10 NECC) now prepares to visit Eastern Nazarene College on Thursday for a 7 p.m. start while LU (1-19, 1-13 NECC) heads to Mitchell College the same night for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

The Mountaineers were paced by freshman Ahmyria Simmons (Silver Spring, Md.) who tied the game-high of 14 points as she went 5-6 from the floor in just 12 minutes off the bench. Senior Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) posted her seventh double-double of the year with 12 points and a team-best 14 rebounds while junior Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) had a well-rounded night with seven points, six assists, three rebounds, and two steals.

A pair of Lesley players, junior Dakota Jones (Torrance, Calif.) and sophomore Karyn McEvoy (Quincy, Mass.), tied Simmons' 14-point mark with Jones adding a game-high 17 boards to her line. Graduate student Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, five assists, and four rebounds in the effort.

SVC had a slim 38-36 advantage in rebounds but utilized its offensive caroms to outscore Lesley 11-6 in second-chance points. The Mountaineers also had a 12-8 upper hand in points off turnovers while notching 26 points in the paint to LU's 16.

A low-scoring first quarter saw Southern Vermont go up 6-4 after a triple by freshman Julia Ryan (Clifton Park, N.Y.), and there were only a few more baskets through the rest of the frame for the hosts to lead by one. Scores went back-and-forth in the second period before Main grabbed an offensive board in the final minute and sent it back up to put her team on top by four right before intermission.

SVC garnered some breathing room early in the third as three players accounted for a quick 6-0 run. Buckets were traded through the remainder of the stanza as the Mountaineers went to the final quarter on top by 10.

Simmons found her groove in the final 10 minutes as she notched the first nine Southern Vermont points, but the Lynx kept it up at the other end to find themselves down 47-34 with 5:29 to go. After back-to-back LU treys cut it to an 11-point difference late in the game, however, SVC responded with six unanswered points to put it out of Lesley's reach.

– #LetsGoSVC –