Wyland's double-double not enough as Panthers fall

            NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Kayla Wyland (Melrose, Mass.) notched her first double-double of the season, netting 16 points while pulling down 10 rebounds, but it wasn't quite enough as the Plymouth State University women's basketball team fell to Lasell College 49-47 in non-conference action from The Athletic Center on Tuesday night.

            In a back-and-forth game the Lasers were able to outlast the Panthers down the stretch.  The game saw seven ties and 12 lead changes, with neither team holding a lead larger than seven points.

THE BASICS

  The Athletic Center, Newton, Mass. – Tues., Dec. 6, 2016

  Plymouth State 47, Lasell 49

  Records:

  Plymouth State 1-5 (0-1 LEC); Lasell 3-4 (0-1 GNAC)

PSU LEADERS

  * Wyland … 16 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks

  * Senior DeAsia 'Ace' Lawrence (Middletown, Conn.) … 10 points, three steals, three rebounds

  * Sophomore Cassidy Emerson (Concord, N.H.) … six points, six rebounds

  * Senior Leah Swanson (Atkinson, N.H.) … eight points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals

BY THE NUMBERS

  * The Panthers struggled from the floor, connecting on 17-of-68 (25.0%) and just hitting just 1-of-14 three-point attempts.  Lasell finished 7-of-19 from long range, including three from junior Brianna Hoffman (Milford, N.H.).

  * PSU held a 47-38 advantage on the glass.

  * The Lasell bench provided a huge spark, accounting for 27 points to Plymouth State's 15.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter:

  * In a back-and-forth first quarter, Plymouth State took an early 3-2 lead when Wyland connected from long range for her first triple of the season.

  * A Wyland layup gave the Panthers a 7-6 advantage midway through the quarter.  Moments later Wyland and Lawrence both connected from inside to give the Panthers' their largest lead of the quarter, 11-6, with 4:47 to play.

  * Hoffman hit a layup then drained a three-pointer to knot the game at 11-11 with 3:31 left.

  * PSU took a 15-14 lead when Emerson hit a jumper with less than 30 seconds to play, but sophomore Taylor Hughey's (Redding, Calif.) triple gave Lasell a 17-15 lead after one.

Second Quarter:

  * A jumper from freshman Chenysse Hill (Lynn, Mass.) and layups from sophomore Jess Conant (Canton, Maine) and Wyland gave the Panthers a 21-17 lead just 1:32 into the second quarter.

  * The Lasers answered with eight of the next 12 points to tie the game at 15-15 with 4:35 left in the half.

  * Lasell went up by four, 29-25, after a three-pointer from junior Morgan Church (New London, N.H.) with 3:31 in the half.

  * A layup from Lawrence would be the only other points in the quarter, as Lasell took a 29-27 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter:

  * The Lasers used a 5-0 run over the first 3:24 of the third quarter to pull ahead by seven, 34-27.

  * PSU answered with a 9-3 run over the next five minutes to cut the margin to 37-36 with 1:36 remaining in the quarter, but Hoffman answered with another triple.

  * Wyland had a pair of free throws, and Lasell added a jumper to make it a 42-38 Laser lead heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter:

  * A jumper from Lawrence made it a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter, but Hughey answered with a three to put the Lasers up 45-40 with 7:40 remaining.

  * PSU used a 5-0 run over the next three minutes to even the game at 45-45.

  * Lasell went back up by three, 48-45, when Hoffman connected on one-of-two free throw attempts with just under two minutes to play.

  * A layup from Lawrence cut the margin to 48-47 with 30 ticks left on the clock.  Sophomore Becca Fenton (East Hartford, Conn.) pushed the lead back to two for the Lasers, 49-47, after hitting one-of-two from the free throw line with 17 seconds to play.

  * The Panthers had two opportunities to tie to score in the final seconds, but neither shot would go down as Lasell hung on for the win.

NEXT UP

  * Plymouth State will play its fourth straight road game Thursday, when the Panthers travel to Salem State University for a non-conference game (7:00 p.m.).

  * Lasell is off until Saturday when the Lasers host Emerson College with a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.

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