NEW LONDON, N.H. – December 1, 2015 – The Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team fell to intrastate foe Plymouth State University, 70-56 in non-conference action on Tuesday evening.

The Panthers earn their first win of the season, improving to 1-4, and will conclude the first semester with four straight home games beginning on Thursday against Lyndon. Colby-Sawyer drops to 1-2 and will begin North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play tomorrow at home against Green Mountain at 5:30 p.m.

Plymouth State junior Kayla Wyland (Melrose, Mass.) recorded an impressive double-double of 19 points on 9-of-21 shooting and 14 rebounds. She added four assists and a pair of steals. Junior Ace Lawrence (Middletown, Conn.) led all scorers with 26 on 8-of-13. Senior Taylor Perry (Simsbury, Conn.) was the third Panther to reach double figures with 11 on 4-of-7.

Colby-Sawyer was led by Kristin Ellis (South Easton, Mass.). The junior finished with 10 points, 17 rebounds and four assists. Ellis recorded at least 17 rebounds for the third time in her career after a pair of 20-rebound efforts last season. Senior Jessica Shenkel (Sharon, Mass.) added 16 points, while sophomore Amanda Calvo (South Deerfield, Mass.) chipped in 12 off the bench.

The first quarter featured four lead changes and a pair of ties. The visitors raced out to a 9-5 lead capped by a Lawrence jumper. Colby-Sawyer responded with a 10-2 run in the next three minutes to take a 15-11 lead. The Panthers battled back thanks to three straight three pointers to regain a 20-15 lead before a Calvo trey ended the frame with Plymouth State in front 20-18.

Plymouth State increased its lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Chargers 14-7 to take a 34-25 advantage into the lockerroom. The Panthers were 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and held Colby-Sawyer to 25 percent from the floor.
The Panthers continued to apply pressure by making 50 percent of their shots in the third quarter (9-18) to push the lead to 56-38.

Trailing by 18 to open the fourth quarter, the Chargers began the stanza with a 16-6 run capped by a layup from sophomore Emmani Robinson (Newburgh, N.Y.) to cut the deficit to eight, but that as close as Colby-Sawyer would get. Plymouth State hit two jumpers in the final 1:17 and won the game 70-56.

The Panthers finished the game 7-of-10 from beyond the arc and held a 17-2 advantage on second chance points.

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