In the first round of the Little East Women’s Basketball Tournament last Tuesday (2/24), PSU fell to Eastern Connecticut in a challenging away game. The Panthers struggled to keep up, scoring just 37 points to Eastern’s 77 when the final buzzer sounded.
The Panthers opened the game with a basket by senior Tiffany Lewis (Hillsboro, N.H.) that was then quickly answered by Eastern with a layup from junior Jill Ritrosky. Sophomore Kayla Wyland (Melrose, M.A.) sank a jump shot within the next minute that pulled the Panthers ahead at 4-2 at the 18 minute mark, but it would be their last lead of the game.
The Warriors then went on to score 19 points over the course of the next five and a half minutes, with Plymouth’s junior Taylor Perry (Simsbury, C.T.) ending the run with a three-pointer. Eastern would go on to score 23 points in the last twelve minutes of the half. The Panthers would score seven, with three more points from Perry, a free-throw by Wyland, and a three-pointer from sophomore Madison Beatrice (Newton, M.A.). This brought the score to 44-14 at the half.
Plymouth would continue struggling to challenge Eastern in the second half. Sophomore Ace Lawrence (Middletown, C.T.) would score the Panther’s first points of the half with two free-throws near the 18 minute mark, only to be answered by another Warrior run of 14 points over the next six minutes. Plymouth was unable to make a comeback in the last half of the second, ending the game with a final score of 77-37.
Perry would be the Panther’s top scorer of the night, finishing with 13 points and three rebounds. Wyland followed close behind with nine points and six rebounds, and Beatrice would finish with seven points and three rebounds.
The Panthers end their season with a record of 6-20, improving four games from last year. Senior Tiffany Lewis ends her final season with a total of 151 points and was the team’s leader in rebounds this season, with 166 total. Her classmate, Kelley Collins (Groveton, N.H.) finishes the season with 131 points and 144 rebounds. Sophomore Ace Lawrence wraps up the season as the Panther’s top scorer, with 261 points total.