NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team concluded the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season on Saturday dropping a contest to Johnson & Wales University by a 54-41 margin. Before the game seniors Abby Hamelin (Chesterfield, N.H.), Emily Parent (Oakland, Maine) and Lia Raynowska (Brentwood, N.H.) were honored as part of the senior day festivities.

Playoff Bound:
The Chargers finished off the season in the #4 seed in the GNAC North Division to earn a spot in the GNAC Playoffs. 

Rapid Recap: 

• The Wildcats jumped ahead 4-0 before sophomore Courtney Brewster (Castleton, Vt.) scored consecutive buckets to tie the game early. JWU ended the quarter on a 9-2 run with the only Colby-Sawyer basket coming from first year Elyza Mitchell (Spofford, N.H.) to take a 13-6 lead into the second quarter.
•  The Chargers got right back into the game in the second as Mitchell put home back-to-back layups to spark a 6-0 run to cut the lead to a single point. The Wildcats hung on with a pair of baskets and after back-to-back threes later on the visitors led by seven once again. Sophomore Marissa Holt (Alfred, Maine) hit a floater with 35 seconds left in the first half to give the Chargers a five-point hole heading into the break.
• Holt kick started the Chargers with a three-pointer out of the break, but a 8-0 counter by the Wildcats pushed the lead to 11 points. Colby-Sawyer hung around with free throws by Holt and Mitchell to keep the deficit at 10, but a big old fashioned three-point play by Mitchell got the lead back to just 34-27. Johnson & Wales would score the final two baskets headed into the fourth up 11. 
• Sophomore Gabby Lucertini (Branford, Conn.) came alive in the fourth quarter netting three-triples to cut the lead to six part of a 9-4 run over four minutes. Another lay-in by Holt kept the lead at just six points with 5:19 to play, but a 8-0 run by the visitors pushed the lead back to double digits. Raynowska put up three more points in the final two minutes, but the Wildcats held on for the 54-41 win.

Stats & Figures:

• Mitchell ended the night with her second collegiate double-double with 13 points (5-16 FG, 3-5 FT) and 10 rebounds. Holt was the only other Charger to hit double-digits with 10 points (4-14 FG, 1-7 3-FG, 1-2 FT), five rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals and a block. Lucertini added nine points (3-7 FG, 3-5 3-FG), seven boards and a pair of helpers.
• Sarah Wisniewski paced the Wildcats with 15 points (4-14 FG, 1-4 3-FG, 6-8 FT), eight rebounds and a pair of steals.

Up Next: 
The Chargers will head to New Haven, Conn. on Tuesday February 21 in the first round of the GNAC Playoffs in a matchup with Albertus Magnus College with a 5:30 PM start.      

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