Basketball Finishes 0-2 in Florida

Over the holiday break, the basketball team traveled to Daytona Beach, Fla. to compete in the Land of Magic Classic hosted by Embry-Riddle University. Facing two formidable opponents, the Lyons dropped both winter break matches. In the first game, MHC fell at the hands of Western Connecticut, 40-60, on Dec. 28th. The next day, No. 7 University of Southern Maine defeated the Lyons, 48-61.

Mount Holyoke College's leading scorer senior Joeanna Silvey paced the Lyons against Western Conn., sinking 14 points in the team's effort. Junior forward Marisa Barone chipped in nine points and posted eight rebounds for the game. First year Jessica Olson and senior Angela Astuccio both contributed 10 boards a piece. The Lyons struggled from the floor, shooting just 27.3% from field-goal range and finishing zero-of-three from behind the arc. Despite shooting woes, the Lyons held the advantage in rebounds, 55-37, pulling down 18 offensive boards to WCSU's mere six.

In the second game, the Lyons faced nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine. Silvey and Barone both reached double-digits in scoring, tallying 17 and 10 points, respectively. Silvey also chipped in five boards, two assists, and two steals. Starting for the fourth time this season, Erin Cain '10 contributed eight points on a four-for-seven shooting performance. Cain also notched six rebounds and two steals. As a team, the Lyons shot 30.9% from the floor and finished 11-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe (68.8%).

The two losses drops the Lyons to 6-4 overall. Mount Holyoke College basketball returns to action on Thursday, January 4th when they play host to non-conference opponent Emerson College. The teams square-off at 5:00 p.m.