Lesley tops Newbury with second-half comeback, 61-49

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Newbury College women’s basketball team fell to Lesley University, 61-49, Thursday evening in a battle that matched the nation’s leading rebounder (Newbury’s Catherine O’Connell) and leading shot blocker Lesley’s (Brianne Caira). At 5-0, the Lynx(5-7 overall) remain tied for first place in the NECC, while the Nighthawks falls to 4-3 in league play (6-9 overall).

        The 6-foot-1 Caira (Pelham, NH/Pelham), who entered averaging a national-best 4.6 blocks per game, posted a double-double of 10 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, four assists and three steals. Teammate Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy) scored 10 of her team-high 18 in the Lynx second-half comeback, which was ignited by Rachael O’Mara (Levittown, NY/General Douglas McArthur), who scored 13 of her 17 after half.

        O’Connell (Quincy, MA/North Quincy), who entered averaging a nation-leading 16.5 rebounds, tied Caira for game-high honors with 13 boards, but was hampered by foul trouble and held to two points over 24 minutes. Ashley Monteiro (Cambridge, MA/Rindge & Latin) was red-hot as the Nighthawks jumped out to a four-point halftime lead, scoring 19 of her game-high 24 points off the bench in the first.

        Montiero’s two treys in the first two minutes put Newbury up 6-2, and the teams exchanged leads and forced ties for most of the period. Just inside the 6:00 mark, Nighthawks junior Shayla White (Dorchester, MA/Wellesley High) ripped Lesley guard Jennie Vallesio, taking the steal coast-to-coast to give the visitors their largest lead, 21-16

        Lesley battled back when, after a pair of Wechsler free throws, guard Emily Fleming (Somerville, MA/Somerville) forced a Monteiro turnover that led to a Wechsler bucket, giving the Lynx their first lead since the opening seconds, 28-27 at the 1:00 mark. Monteiro, who owned the first half, responded immediately with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws that sent the Nighthawks into intermission back ahead by four, 32-28.

        As quickly as Monteiro caught fire off the opening tip, O’Mara turned the heat up out of intermission, as the senior forward hit consecutive three-pointers on Lesley’s first two possessions of the second. Lesley never trailed thereafter.

        White tied the contest at 34-34 at the 18:00 mark, but Wechsler scored four straight to extend the lead to 38-34. Monteiro’s fifth trifecta of the game cut it to a 47-46 contest with 8:24 remaining, but Lesley then embarked on a 14-0 run featuring four points each from O’Mara and Wechsler, distancing the Lynx, who remained undefeated in NECC play.

        O’Connell and Newbury bettered Lesley 53-48 on the boards, but Lesley held the Nighthawks to under 24 percent shooting.  Newbury turned the ball over 25 times to a manageable 14 for the Lynx, who handed out 16 assists led by senior forward Cassidy Freed’s five assists and one turnover.

        Freed (Brattleboro, VT/Brattleboro Union) added a pair of blocks and a game-high four steals for the Lesley, which visits Becker on Saturday at 1 p.m. Newbury travels to Bay Path on Saturday, also at 1:00.

- Game story provided by: Ryan McCarthy, Sports Information Director - Lesley University

- Game photo by: Samantha Yanofsky