The Women’s Basketball Team fell to Rhode Island College in their Senior Game at home on Saturday. The Panthers came out looking for their first conference win to end the regular season, but were unable to maintain the lead in the final minutes, ending with a score of 66-53.
The Panthers opened the game by scoring the first points in the form of two free-throws from sophomore Kayla Wyland (Melrose, MA), but were unable to keep the lead during the first half. Wyland’s points were quickly answered by RIC, with a basket from junior Michelle Lagrotteria and a layup by classmate Devin Hill. This brought the score to 4-2, at the 15 minute mark.
As Plymouth struggled to find their footing on offense, the Anchormen continued to pull ahead, increasing their lead to 16 points with a score of 26-10 with 6:30 left in the half. The Panthers began to pick up momentum in the last six minutes before halftime, beginning with a layup from senior Kelley Collins (Groveton, N.H.). Her classmate, Tiffany Lewis (Hillsboro, N.H.), went on to score eight points in the final minutes, helping to decrease Rhode Island’s lead to just five points at halftime, the score 31-26. Lewis would go on to be the Panther’s leading scorer of the game, with 13 points total.
Coming into the second half, Plymouth had a renewed momentum. Seniors Collins and Lewis scored six points collectively in the first three minutes, jump starting the Panther offense. A layup from Wyland tied the game at 37-37 with 15:26 left to play. Sophomore Ace Lawrence (Middletown, CT) would sink a three-pointer just moments later, giving the Panthers the lead.
They were able to maintain the lead for the next three minutes, until the Anchorwomen went on an eight-point run, bringing the score to 48-46 at the 10 minute mark. The Panthers were unable to pull ahead again over the last half of the second, the score 66-53 at the final buzzer.
The Panthers go into the LEC playoffs as the eighth seed, playing first seeded Eastern Connecticut on the road in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday.