WBB Keeps Rolling with Win Over Lesley

NEW LONDON, Conn. – A balanced scoring attack led the Mitchell College women's basketball team to a 67-36 victory over Lesley University on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference play at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Samantha Ryan posted a game- and season-high 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting to lead the Mariners (13-8 overall, 12-4 NECC), who extended their winning streak to six games. Jessica Shepherd added nine points off the bench while Lehayla Cruz tied a career best with eight.

Courtney Goggin led Lesley (1-22 overall, 0-16 NECC) with 12 points while Ari Dimou chipped in with 10. Abby Henderson also gave the Lynx good minutes off the bench and finished with eight points and four rebounds.

Both teams were sluggish in the opening quarter as Mitchell clawed out to a 13-9 lead. The second quarter was a different story as the Mariners shot 57 percent and exploded for 26 points, 12 of which came from Ryan alone. Shepherd and Cruz combined for 11 points in the stanza to do their part, and the result was a 39-18 Mitchell lead at intermission.

The Mariners led by as many as 33 points in the second half en route to the win, which secured a home game for the first round of the upcoming NECC Championship. Mitchell, currently in third place, can finish no worse than fourth in the regular season standings but could climb as high as second.

A total of 11 players found the scoring column for the Mariners. Savannah Boyle and Toshina Jessamy each finished with seven points while Suzanne Vachon tied a season high with six. Tiana Edwards also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

Mitchell will next play at Newbury College on Tuesday, February 16 at 7 p.m. Lesley returns to action at Regis College on Tuesday at 6 p.m.