NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer Chargers women's basketball team picked up a huge comeback victory on Thursday defeating Emerson College by a 55-50 final. Sophomore Courtney Brewster (Castleton, Vt.) finished the huge and-one game-winning bucket with 31 seconds left to lead to the eventual win. 

Rapid Recap: 

• The Lions started off quickly jumping ahead 10-3 before Brewster picked up three-straight points to cut the lead to four. A layup by senior Lia Raynowska (Brentwood, N.H.) halted another Emerson run at the end of the first quarter with the visitors leading by a 16-9 margin. 
• First year Elyza Mitchell's (Spofford, N.H.) first collegiate bucket opened the scoring in the second quarter, before another 5-0 run highlighted by a stare down three-pointer by sophomore Megan Molettieri (Pelham, N.H.) cut the lead to 18-17 with 7:54 in the first half. The Lions continued to hold the lead, but a pair of buckets by sophomore Natalie Panagrosso (Wallingford, Conn.) kept the Chargers within 30-24 heading into the break. 
• Sophomore Marissa Holt (Alfred, Maine) kick started the offense for Colby-Sawyer in the third quarter with back-to-back baskets. The Lions countered by jumping the lead up to 43-34 late in third quarter. Raynowska gave the Chargers the momentum heading into the fourth finishing home a late layup after a steal from sophomore Gabby Lucertini (Branford, Conn.) to cut the lead to 43-37 heading into the final frame. 
• Mitchell kept the momentum with the home team early finishing an old fashioned three point play which started an 8-0 Charger run ended by a senior Emily Parent (Oakland, Maine) to give the Chargers their first lead with 7:45 of the fourth quarter. Parent broke another tie with another deep triple to keep Colby-Sawyer in front with junior Grace Lister (Milford, N.H.) extending the lead to five with 4:51 left. The Lions bounced back with five-straight to knot the game at 50-50 with 47 seconds to go. The Chargers got the clutch bucket off a set play as Parent found Brewster for the big and-one which led to the victory. A block by Parent and a pair of free-throws from Lucertini finished off the comeback victory for the home team.

Player Spotlight:

"It feels great coming off a building year last year and starting off this season with a huge win", said sophomore Courtney Brewster (Castleton, Vt.). "I'm so excited for the rest of the season and this team has grown so much this season so far. The last three-point play was just an amazing assist by Emily Parent and it really got the team going and gave us the push we needed to pick up the win tonight."


Stats & Figures:

• Brewster had a big night for the Chargers scoring 10 points (4-10 FG, 0-2 3-FG, 2-5 FT), with a career-high four blocks and six rebounds. Raynowska added a clutch performance with 10 points (5-11 FG), six rebounds, two steals and a block. Mitchell finished her first collegiate game with six points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3-FG, 2-3 FT), seven rebounds and a block in 19 minutes of action. 
• Ella Bushee paced the Lions with 20 points (9-14 FG, 0-1 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds. 
• The Chargers ended the night with 10 blocks and six steals, while out-rebounding Emerson College by a 49-43 margin. Colby-Sawyer finished the night shooting 35.6% (21-59) from the field 32 points in the paint and 22 bench points. 

Up next: 
The Chargers will stay at home for a Saturday matinee against Curry College with a 1:00 PM tip. 

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