Thomas, Duff Lead Wellesley Basketball to 77-52 Win Over Lassell

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley seniors Julia Thomas (Concord, CA) and Jessica Duff (Milton, Abingdon, UK)combined for 43 points to lead the Blue basketball team to a 77-52 win over Lasell College on Thursday night at Keohane Sports Center.  The non-conference win lifts Wellesley to 8-6 overall, while the Lasers fall to 6-12 on the year.

Wellesley started strong, scoring the first six points of the game to take a 6-0 advantage at the 17:00 minute mark.  Lasell responded, however, putting together a 14-7 point run to take a one-point lead just over 10 minutes to play. The Laser's run was spurred by sophomore guard Katie Farr (Rindge, NH) who contributed eight points during the rally. 

After the teams traded baskets, Wellesley pulled away, scoring 10-straight points to take a 26-16 lead with 5:00 to play in the half. Another run from Lasell, narrowed the gap to a one point Wellesley lead, but Thomas made a lay-up at the buzzer and completed the three-point play to set the score to 29-25 at the break.

Wellesley took a ten-point lead to open the second half, but Lasell rebounded with threes from Katie Schumitz (Milford, CT) and Kelsey Converse (Laconia, NH) cut the lead to 47-43 with 11:13 to play.  From that point on, it was Wellesley's game as the Blue went on a 30-9 run to seal the 77-52 victory.

For Lasell, Shauna Kelly (N. Hampton, MA) led a trio of Lasers in double figures with 15 points while Farr finished with 14 and Schumitz added 12 points and four assists.

Thomas recorded a double-double on the night, with game-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds while Duff finished with 21 points and nine rebounds despite only playing 22 minutes due to foul trouble.  Wellesley first-year Elisha Orama (Miramar, FL) backed up Saturday's career performance against Wheaton with a great all-around game, contributing 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.  Rounding out the offense for the Blue, senior Courtney Richter (Sinking Spring, PA) notched seven assists, six points and four steals.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday with conference clashes.  Lasell will host Suffolk at 2:00pm while Wellesley hosts a 2:00pm tilt with cross-town rival Babson.