DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The SUNY Polytechnic Women's Basketball Team (3-4) got a big performance from rookie Molly MacLachlan (Marcellus, N.Y. / Marcellus) on Friday evening during Day One of the Daytona Beach Shootout, but it wasn't enough to topple the Springfield College Pride (3-4), who prevailed in the game by a score of 67-55.
MacLachlan led all scorers with 21 points, a season-high for the rookie through her first 7 college games. The 5-foot-11 guard did most of her damage from long-range, knocking down 6 of 11 from three-point range. MacLachlan also grabbed 6 rebounds and doled out 3 assists.
On the other side of the court the Pride were led by guard Heather Lewis with 19 points. Whereas MacLachlan warmed up mainly in the second half (scoring 13 of her 21 points), Lewis was hot from the opening tip. She finished with 13 points to lead all scorers going into halftime, and her jumper with 8:24 to go in the first frame sparked a 20-3 run by the Pride that saw a tie game balloon to a 33-16 Springfield lead.
SUNY Poly did its best to mount a comeback in the second half and would out score Springfield 34-30 over the final 20 minutes. Not usually known for its range, the team had one of its better shooting nights from deep as well, finishing 10-for-26 from behind the arc.
While Springfield finished the game holding a 42-34 rebounding advantage, the key factor in Friday's loss was the free throw line. The Pride knocked down 15 of 17 attempts while the Wildcats struggled, going only 3 for 12 from the line. Of course it's likely the number was a statistical fluke, as no single player for the Wildcats had more than three attempts.
SUNY Poly got solid games from top scorers Geena Gallo (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa) and Lauren Knowles (Salisbury Mills, N.Y. / Washingtonville). Gallo was the team's second-leading scorer with 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting, and grabbed 6 boards. Knowles finished on track for her usual near-double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds. The 5-7 power forward shot well but only made 6 attempts, finishing 4 of 6.
The Pride put four players in double-figures including Lewis. Forward Jaimie Bickelhaupt registered a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
The Wildcats will wrap up their time down south on Sunday, December 21st, with another 2:00 pm match up. SUNY Poly is scheduled to take on Stevenson University.
*Correction: an earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the Wildcat's next game as being on Saturday (Dec.20)