Fourth Quarter Surge Pushes Lasell Past Anna Maria, 54-46

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College women's basketball team suffered a 54-46 loss to the Lasers of Lasell College on Wednesday evening in the AMCATS' first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) pairing of the 2015-16 season.

With the loss, Anna Maria falls to 6-7 overall, while Lasell improves to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in GNAC play.

THE SERIES

The two teams entered the game tied at 3-3 in the series, dating back to the 2009-10 season. Lasell has now won two in-a-row, as they took a 49-46 win against the AMCATS in Newton last season.

AMCAT LEADERS

Both Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y.) and Nicole Mareiro (Acushnet, Mass.) finished with 12 points for the AMCATS. Taitt scored hers on a 5-18 effort from the floor along with two free-throws, while Mareiro hit four of five from three-point range.

Jessica Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) was the team's leading rebounder with 13 boards.

LASELL LEADERS

The Lasers saw a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds from Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.). Stopera shot just 5-for-25 from the floor, but three of them were three-pointers. She also finished a flawless 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Deanna Barrett (Berlin, Mass.) added eight points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The AMCATS took control on the second basket of the game and led for the entire first half, building a 10-point lead early in the second quarter. The Lasers responded with a spurt that saw them come within two points, 22-20, with 3:40 remaining in the half, but Anna Maria was able to fight off the rally and carry a 26-21 lead into halftime.

The AMCATS were unable to protect their lead for much longer, as a three-pointer by Liz Bougie (Sanford, Maine) put the Lasers on top 29-28 just 1:13 into the third quarter. Anna Maria got back on top on with a layup by Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) on the next possession and opened a four-point window on a three-pointer by Mareiro at the 4:55 mark.  Anna Maria held on through the rest of the quarter, leading 39-38 entering the final frame.

Lasell took over on the first basket of the fourth quarter and did not look back, using a 5-0 opening run to take a four-point lead. The Lasers would build on that lead steadily throughout the stanza, leading by as many as 10 points with 16 seconds left to play before a last-second layup by Gauvin cut the victory margin to eight points.

FINAL COMPARISONS

Both teams had rough outings from the floor, as the Lasers shot 27 percent from field goal range (17-63) and Anna Maria finished at 26.7 percent (16-60). Anna Maria held an 18-12 edge in points in the paint and a 12-11 advantage in points off turnovers. Both team finished with seven second-chance points, while Lasell held a 4-0 edge in fast break points.

Lasell held a 49-44 advantage in rebounds, including an 18-14 edge in offensive boards.

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS travel to Norwich on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. GNAC contest. Lasell is also in action on Saturday, hosting Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 1:00 p.m.