SALEM, Mass. - Plymouth State University rallied from an eight-point deficit with eight minutes remaining Tuesday evening to pull out a 55-52 victory over Salem State College in the women's basketball season opener for both schools.

              Junior Laura Kent (Bellingham, Mass.) led the Panthers with 18 points and nine rebounds, while senior Kayla Morin (Pascoag, R.I./Burrillville) added 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.  The Panthers defeated the Vikings for the first time since 2002.  Salem State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and finished 22-7.

              The Vikings led the entire first half. Their lead reached 11 points (20-9) with six minutes remaining, but PSU whittled the deficit down to three points at halftime, 26-23. Salem State maintained the lead most of the second half, the highest margin reaching eight points (43-35) with 10 minutes remaining.

              The Panthers battled back, and went on a 19-5 run over the next eight minutes, taking their first lead with six minutes to go and assuming a six-point margin (54-48) with a minute and a half to play. Kent had 12 points to lead the late Panther rally.

              Freshman Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H./Central) added nine points and seven rebounds for the Panthers in her collegiate debut.

              Junior Danielle Jenkins (Marlboro, Mass.) led the Vikings with 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and junior Katie Bielonko (Chicopee, Mass.) added 13 points.

              PSU will play in the Babson College Invitational Tournament this weekend, meeting host Babson in the first game Friday at 5:30 p.m. 

(Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information) 

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