(Game Box) 

              NEWTON, Mass. - Plymouth State University scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed Tuesday evening en route to a 71-56 victory over Lasell College in non-conference women's basketball action.

              The Panthers dominated the inside, as three forwards combined for 43 points and 20 rebounds.  Sophomore Amanda Kania (Manchester, N.H./West) led the way with 17 points and six rebounds, junior Laura Kent (Bellingham, Mass.) added her first double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 boards, and freshman Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H./Central) added 12 points and four rebounds off the bench.  Kania made eight of her 17 shots, while Kent was 6-of-10 and Doucet 6-of-9 from the field.

              PSU snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 5-2 overall, while Lasell dropped its third in a row and fell to 2-6.

              Lasell junior Tricia Culver (North Hampton, Mass.) led all scorers with 18 points, while senior Shauna Kelly (Quincy, Mass.) added 13 points and freshman JoAnna Bishop (South Burlington, Vt.) added 10 points off the Laser bench.

              After PSU's 10-0 run to open the game, Lasell battled back and cut the margin to three points (16-13).  The Panthers responded with a 14-3 burst over the next seven minutes to take their largest lead of the first half, 30-16. Lasell scored the last four points of the half to slice the deficit to nine points, 35-26.

              The Lasers were as close as five points (41-36) five minutes into the second half, but PSU outscored Lasell 22-9 over the next eight minutes to go up by 18 and put the game away.

              Plymouth State had a strong defensive effort, recording 13 steals and six blocked shots and holding Lasell to 37.4 shooting percentage.

              PSU plays another non-conference contest Thursday at Lyndon State (5:30 p.m.). Lasell hosts Gordon College Thursday at 7:00 p.m. 

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