Bethany Plasski, Kayla Parker escort Greyhounds women's basketball past UMass Lowell, 59-53, to tie for third place in Northeast-10 Conference

February 14, 2009

Assumption 59, Mass. Lowell 53

WORCESTER, Mass. --- Senior guard/captain BETHANY PLASSKI (Fall River, MA/Durfee) scored a team-high 14 points and junior forward KAYLA PARKER (Sanford, ME/Sanford) added 11 points as Assumption College defeated the University of Massachusetts Lowell, 59-53, in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action SATURDAY in the Laska Gym.

The win was the fifth straight for the Greyhounds, who improved to 15-9 overall and 13-6 in the conference. Massachusetts Lowell fell to 8-16 overall and 5-14 in the conference. The Greyhounds are tied with American International for third-place (top four teams get a first-round playoff bye) behind Franklin Pierce (15-4) and Stonehill (14-5).

Another key point in the game was the hard-nosed Greyhounds' defense which limited the River Hawks to 22-for-57 floor accuracy (.386) and just one-of-17 (.059) from three-point territory.

Freshman center SHA'NAY BUSHNER (Akron, OH/Kenmore) made a layup for the River Hawks with 5:54 left in the first half to cut the Greyhounds' lead to 18-17 before the home team went on a 9-0 streak to lead by 10 at 27-17.

Sophomore forward MOLLY GRIFFITHS (Walpole, MA/Ursuline) (9 points, game-high 12 rebounds) hit a baseline jumper, freshman forward KELLY MEREDITH (Franklin, MA/Franklin) (9 points) converted a backdoor pass from senior point guard/captain TRISH GARDNER (North Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth) (5 assists, 4 steals), junior guard AMANDA SHEEHY (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) drilled a wing three-pointer and Gardner finished off the mini-spurt with a driving layin.

Junior forward JEN VALENTE (Prospect, CT/Woodland Regional) (14 points) made a jumper and junior guard RAHSHALA VALENTINE (Cincinnati, OH/Ursuline Academy) converted one of a two-shot free throw opportunity to cut the gap to 27-20 at the half.

In the second half junior guard LESLIE LUPIEN (Pomfret Center, CT/Woodstock Academy) (8 points) made a driving layup with 7:33 as the Greyhounds led by 12, 50-38. UMass Lowell however would come back and make it interesting in the closing minutes as sophomore point guard TAMARA MENEFEE (Dorchester, MA/Jeremiah Burke) and Valente made back-to-back hoops to cut the gap to 56-53 with 1:12 remaining. Plasski made three-of-four free throws down-the-stretch to ice it.

The Greyhounds host first-place Franklin Pierce University WEDNESDAY in the Laska Gym at 5:30 p.m. as the second part of the WBCA initiative "Get in the PINK ZONE" to promote awareness of breast cancer. Pink Zone t-shirts will be on sale during the day.

Click here for ASSUMPTION-UMASS LOWELL box score