LEXINGTON, MA

The UMPI Women's Basketball team got back to action as they started their first conference weekend of the year on Friday night. The Owls visited Lesley University and battled through a very close contest all night, until the Lynx were able to pull away in the end.

How it Happened:

Teams were stuck in a dead heat for almost the entire game. The Owls led after one quarter 17-13, but unfortunately for UMPI this was the only quarter they'd win. They grew it to six points to start out the second, but Lesley stormed back on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Teams would trade buckets and after UMPI hit an and-one with seven seconds left to go up 25-22, Lesley's Savannah Gravitt banked in a deep three at the buzzer to seize the momentum going into the locker room.

In the second half, it was a similar pattern second quarter for a while as both teams traded hoops, with Lesley in front most of the time. The Owls grabbed a one-point lead at 35-34, but it would be short-lived as the Lynx closed out the third quarter on a 7-3 note to take a 41-38 lead going into the fourth. UMPI fought hard to keep pace as they again took a slim lead early on in the quarter at 42-41 and later tied it at 45 with under six minutes to play. But that's when Lesley cashed in on their best ball of the night. The Owls went cold, and Lesley got hot as they went on a 12-2 run to take a 57-47 lead with 1:18 to go. UMPI ran out of time to get back in it, though they never gave up down the stretch, eventually falling 61-52.

Top Performers:

The Owls had three standout scorers in this one as Lindsay Hamilton tied her career high with 18 points to lead UMPI. She went 8-15 from the field and also added 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Right behind her in scoring was Aleyah Matheson who had another big night with 17 points. She also had 10 rebounds to record her first ever double-double. Matheson played almost the whole game as she played 38 minutes. Karen Marshall was the third in double digits for UMPI as she recorded a career high 11 points, going 5-10 from the field and grabbing five boards as well.

Next Up:

UMPI drops to 1-4 on the year and 0-1 in conference. They will have another NAC game on Saturday as they take on Thomas College for a 5 p.m. tip-off in Waterville.