PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Colby-Sawyer women's basketball fell on Saturday afternoon to Johnson & Wales by a 64-61 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Wildcats stormed ahead to a 8-5 margin with graduate student Lia Raynowska (Brentwood, N.H.) scoring both baskets by the Chargers in the early going. A junior Gabby Lucertini (Branford, Conn.) layup, followed by four free throws by junior Courtney Brewster (Castleton, Vt.) led to Colby-Sawyer scoring a 11-10 lead into the second. 
• Johnson & Wales took the lead early in the second going on a 7-2 run to lead 17-13 with 6:02 left in the first half. Junior Megan Molettieri (Pelham, N.H.) nailed a triple to cut the lead to a single point, but the Wildcats countered with a 7-3 spurt to hold a five point lead. Molettieri added a tough finish in the paint followed by a layup by junior Natalie Panagrosso (Wallingford, Conn.) to cut the lead back to a single point. Brewster added the final four points in the quarter to hold the Chargers one point lead into halftime. 
• The Wildcats once again took control at the beginning of the quarter going on a 12-1 flurry to hold a 38-28 lead. Lucertini scored the next 10 Charger points to keep the visitors in the game and after a layup by first year Catherine Chick (Glen, N.H.) and another triple from Molettieri the Chargers only trailed by a point headed into the final quarter.
• Brewster finished an and-one basket to tie the game at 46-46 with 9:24 to play. The game was knotted again at 50 a piece after Raynowska got an old fashioned three-point play with another shot from the charity stripe by junior Marissa Holt (Alfred, Maine). The Wildcats produced a clutch run to hold a 57-52 lead with under a minute to play. Molettieri drilled a three to cut the game to two points, but free throws by JWU closed things out at 64-61.

Inside the Numbers:

• Lucertini led the offense with a career-high 23 points (9-16 FG, 5-10 3PT) to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Molettieri tallied 11 points (4-5 FG, 3-3 3PT, 0-4 FT) with two blocks, while Brewster registered 13 points (2-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, 9-15 FT) and eight rebounds. Raynowska added eight points (3-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-1 FT), while matching a career-high with four steals. 
• Sarah Wisniewski led the Wildcats with 20 points (6-14 FG, 3-7 3PT, 5-6 FT), 10 rebounds and four steals. Mikayla Caruso added 13 points (5-10 FG, 3-6 FT), nine boards and two assists. 
• The Chargers held a 49-5 bench scoring margin in the loss, but gave up 45 rebounds on the glass while only collecting 39. 

Up Next: 
Colby-Sawyer will stay on the road to take on Norwich on Wednesday with a 7:00 PM start.

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