BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) recorded a double-double with a career-high 28 points (on 12-for-18 shooting) and 11 rebounds to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's basketball team to a season-opening 53-41 win over Lasell in a non-conference matchup played at Tansey Gymnasium.
The Leopards claim a victory in their season opener for the first time since the 2010-2011 season while the Lasers fall to 1-2.
Wentworth raced out to a 12-0 lead in the first 4:27 of the game as sophomore Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.) scored six points while Roger had four and senior Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) added a pair. Lasell scored the next four points on baskets from senior Katie Stopera (Hollis, N.H.) and freshman Liz Bougie (Sanford, Maine). The Lasers would cut the lead to as few as seven on a 3-pointer form freshman Becca Fenton (East Hartford, Conn.) before McLaughlin drained a shot from behind the arc to make it 18-8 after the first quarter.
Rogers would score eight points (on 4-for-5 shooting) in the second quarter to help the Black & Gold maintain their 10-point lead at the break. In the second stanza Wentworth shot 46.7 percent from the floor while holding Lasell to 23.5 percent.
A Sabino layup early in the third quarter gave the Leopards a 31-17 lead, however the Lasers used a 10-4 spurt to cut the lead to eight on a pair of sophomore Morgan Church (New London, N.H.) free throws with 6:34 left. Six straight points gave Wentworth a 14-point edge and the Leopards took their largest lead of the night (46-31) on a freshman Baylor Johnson (Greer, S.C.) shot from behind the arc with 11 seconds left in the quarter.
Lasell held Wentworth off the scoreboard for the first 3:25 of the fourth quarter and would trim the lead to nine with 5:25 left on a 3-pointer from senior Deanna Barrett (Berlin, Conn.). A Rogers jumper with 3:29 left and one of two free throws from Rogers with 2:56 left gave the hosts a double digit edge. Church hit a layup with 1:56 left to pull her squad within 10, however a Rogers layup on the next possession ended any comeback threat.
In addition to her double-double, Rogers also had a pair of assists, two blocks, and four steals. Sabino finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists while Johnson and McLaughlin had five points each. Junior Kellie Messer had 12 rebounds and four assists.
Barrett led the Lasers with 15 points to go along with three assists and four steals. Stopera added 10 points and three assists.
Wentworth will play New England College at Gordon College on Friday night with Lasell hosts Salem State on Saturday.
