Lawrence and Wyland lead Panthers in setback

            LYNDON CENTER, Vt. – Junior Mikayla Hodge (Newbury, Vt.) recorded her fourth straight double-double to help guide Lyndon State College past Plymouth State University, 67-52, in women's basketball action at Stannard Gymnasium Thursday night.  Hodge finished with game-highs of 20 points (7-of-9) and 12 rebounds.

            Plymouth State got 19 points from senior DeAsia 'Ace' Lawrence (Middletown, Conn.) as the Panthers suffered their third-straight defeat.  Classmate Kayla Wyland (Melrose, Mass.) also finished in double-figures, scoring 11 points in the loss.

THE BASICS

  Stannard Gymnasium, Lyndon Center, Vt. – Thurs., Dec. 1, 2016

  Plymouth State 52, Lyndon State 67

  Records:

  Plymouth State 1-3; Lyndon State 2-2

PSU LEADERS

  * Lawrence … 19 points, three steals

  * Wyland … 11 points, three rebounds, two steals

  * Freshman Chenysse Hill (Lynn, Mass.) … game-high four steals, three rebounds

BY THE NUMBERS

  * Lyndon State shot a crisp 46.9% (23-of-49) from the floor, while holding the Panthers to just 25.7% (18-of-70).

  * The Hornets outscored PSU 21-0 from long range, with the hosts finishing 7-of-18 from deep. 

  * The Panther defense forced 28 LSC turnovers, which led to 23 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter:

  * Lyndon State scored the first four points of the game, but Plymouth responded with nine of the next 11 to pull ahead 9-6 midway through the opening quarter.  Wyland and sophomore Jess Conant (Canton, Maine) each had four points in the run.

  * A layup by Lawrence gave PSU an 11-8 lead with 3:22 to play in the quarter, but the Hornets answered with a 7-2 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore Alexis Britch (Essex Junction, Vt.) to pull ahead 15-13 with just over a minute remaining.

  * Plymouth State closed the quarter with four straight points on a layup by sophomore Debra Morrill (Concord, N.H.) and a jumper from classmate Cassidy Emerson (Concord, N.H.) to give the Panthers a 17-15 lead after one.

Second Quarter:

  * Senior Leah Swanson (Atkinson, N.H.) put PSU up 19-17 2:35 into the second quarter after LSC junior Gabrielle Foy (Wilton, Maine) had tied things at 17-17.

  * The hosts used a 5-0 spurt to pull ahead, but a layup from Lawrence cut the lead to 22-21 with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter.

  * Lyndon State answered with a 5-2 run to head into halftime with a 27-23 lead.

Third Quarter:

  * Lawrence got to the basket in the opening minute of the third quarter to cut the Panther deficit to two points (27-25), but Hodge took over for the Hornets.

  * Hodge scored nine points during a 14-6 run that put LSC up by double-figures, 41-31, with 2:22 left in the third.

  * After a pair of Lawrence free throws made it 46-35, freshman Jacquelyn Schmucker (Cape May, NJ.) gave Lyndon State its largest lead of the game (50-35) with back-to-back jumpers in the final minute of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter:

  * The Panthers opened the fourth quarter with five straight points to cut the deficit to 10, 50-40, but Foy connected from long range to stop the run.

  * Hodge drained a triple to put the Hornets up 56-42 with 5:09 to play but the Panthers fought back scoring six straight points, with all of them coming from the charity stripe, to trail 56-48 with 3:14 to go.

  * That was as close as Plymouth State would get, however, as junior Mariah Ramos (Lebanon, N.H.) stopped the run with a three-pointer.

  * Lyndon State closed the game on an 11-4 run to wrap up the 67-52 victory.

NEXT UP

  Plymouth State @ Rhode Island, Providence, R.I. – Sat., Dec. 3 (1:00 p.m.)

  Lyndon State @ Colby-Sawyer, New London, N.H. – Sat., Dec. 3 (3:00 p.m.)

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