WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon College ran its win streak to three games to begin the 2015-16 campaign with a 58-30 triumph over Lesley in the second game of the Gordon Thanksgiving Classic. New England College hit a layup as time expired to beat Wentworth 44-43 in the opening contest of the tournament.
Wentworth (1-1) and Lesley (0-2) will look to come out of the tournament with a victory when they meet tomorrow at 1 p.m. The Fighting Scots and Pilgrims (3-0) each hope to remain unbeaten this season following a 3 p.m. tip.
Game One Wentworth was sharp in the first quarter as they raced out to a 14-4 lead after just 10 minutes. New England College struggled to hit open looks, going 2-for-12 during the opening frame and Wentworth took advantage on the other end.
The Leopards had their lead trimmed to six points at the half after scoring just three points in the second quarter.
After the Grims got within three points of Wentworth in the early stages of the third quarter, Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) and Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) put the Leopards on quick 9-2 run to take a 28-18 lead with 2:25 in the period.
New England College scored the final nine points of the period, including five points from the charity stripe to pull back within a single score.
McLaughlin and Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) combated the Pilgrims with triples on three of the next four Wentworth possessions, but NEC would not go away. First-year Mikala Malboeuf (Fitchburg, Mass.) hit a three to bring the Pilgrims back within one at 37-36 and Utshana Durham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave them their first lead just a few seconds later following a missed layup.
Wentworth grinded back to take a 43-40 lead with exact a minute remaining on the clock. Tiffany Davis (Baltimore, Md.) hit a nifty layup, but the Pilgrims fouled a Wentworth player on the other end with six seconds to go.
The Leopards missed both free throws, the second of which fell out of bounds to the Pilgrims. Marjani Lillard (Bowie, Md.) took the inbounds pass and raced down the sideline before chucking a long pass to reserve guard Corina Moore (Derry, N.H.). The sophomore had entered the game for the first time just seconds earlier and lofted a layup into the hoop as the horn sounded on the backboard.
McLaughlin, Camara and Rogers all had 11 points for the Leopards. Rogers also picked up eight boards, four steals and two blocks.
Davis had 10 points off the bench to lead the Pilgrims, while Lillard had the most dymanic game with nine points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists.
Game Two Gordon looked comfortable in their first game of the tournament, showcasing a first half offense they had lacked in their previous two games. The Scots rolled out to a 19-0 lead over the first eight minutes of the game and never looked back.
The Fighting Scots led by as many as 30 in the first half and took a 41-12 lead into the break—their largest lead since beating Wheelock by 26 last season.
Gordon grew its lead to 55-20 with two minutes to go in the third quarter, but they would only score three points over the final 12 minutes in a 58-30 victory.
Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H.) and Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) led the Lynx with seven points apiece. Forward Emily Meade (Derry, N.H.) contributed a team-high four rebounds for Lesley.
Twelve different Gordon players scored a point in the game, including 10 points from freshman Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) to lead the way. Tafoya also led the Scots with eight rebounds despite playing only 15 minutes. Sophie Linnell (Richmond, Va.) had eight points, six boards and three steals in 16 minutes.
The Fighting Scots outscored the Lynx 35-12 in bench points and 32-12 in the paint for the game.
