SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – December 8, 2007 –Lauren O’Connor scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead her Springfield College women’s basketball team to a 72-61 non-conference victory over Colby-Sawyer College this afternoon at James Naismith Court at Springfield’s Blake Arena.

With the win, Springfield raised its record to 4-3, while Colby-Sawyer fell to 4-4.

O’Connor, a 6-1 junior center from Valhalla, N.Y., led a balanced Pride attack with her 18 points. Three other SC starters scored in double figures. They included senior guard and co-captain Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) with 12 points, freshman guard Rachelle Walker (Lee, Mass.) with 11, and senior guard and co-captain Christine Cotter (Stoughton, Mass.) with 11. Junior forward Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

For the Chargers, sophomore forward Terri Duffy (Marshfield, Mass.) led all scorers with 25, while senior guard Noelle Surette (Buxton, Me.) added 14. Surette also had a game-high 15 rebounds. Junior guard Kate Racz (Worthington, Mass.) added 9 points.

This was a very close game for the first 30 minutes or so. Springfield had small advantages throughout those first 30 minutes, leading by as many as seven on a few occasions, including at the half (43-36). But when junior center Emma Pasquale (Eliot, Me.) made a lay-up with 11:45 left in the contest, the game was tied for the sixth time at 52-all.

Walker then made a three to give Springfield the lead for good (55-52) with 11:12 remaining. A jumper by Chargers’ junior guard Ellen Naughton (Reading, Mass.) cut it to 55-54 with 9:33 left.

But here is where the Pride opened it up, putting together a 13-0 streak over the course of the next five and a half minutes. It began with a lay-up by McCarthy, and was followed by a banked three-pointer by freshman reserve guard Annie Lasek (Southampton, Mass.) with 7:54 left. Freshman center Tristan Peasley (Leominster, Mass.) hit two free throws, Finch added a lay-up, and Lasek hit two more free throws. Cotter finished the surge with a short jumper with 3:27 left to give SC a 68-54 lead.

Colby-Sawyer could get no closer than the final margin of 11 the rest of the way.

Springfield finished with a slight edge in rebounding, 42-39. Neither team shot exceptionally well. SC shot .397 from the floor, while Colby-Sawyer shot .379. While SC made one more field goal (23-22), there was a big disparity in free throw attempts. Springfield made 23-of-35, while the Chargers made just 11-of-15. McCarthy led SC with 6 assists. Walker had 5. Naughton led Colby-Sawyer with 4 assists. Springfield committed just 14 turnovers, while Colby-Sawyer committed 21. Colby-Sawyer was held to shooting just .259 from the field (7-of-27) in the second half.

Up next, Springfield will play at Union on Thursday night (Dec. 13) at 7:00 pm.

published: 12/08/2007