CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 17, 2008) – The Queens University of Charlotte women's lacrosse team beat Lees-McRae College for the third time this season to advance to the Conference Carolinas semifinals which take place on Saturday at Limestone College. The Royals (11-6 overall/6-4 CC) rolled over the Bobcats (1-15 overall/0-10 CC) 20-9 in the first round the conference tournament Thursday night at the Queens University of Charlotte Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park.

Queens held a 10-goal lead, 16-6, after the first 30 minutes of play. After going on a 6-0 run to start the game, Queens found the Bobcats within three with 11 minutes remaining in the half. Amanda Mahle (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) countered the Lees-McRae's attempts to overtake the Royals with three consecutive goals. In the game, Mahle had three goals and one assist.

The second had much less scoring action as Queens notched four and Lees-McRae had three. The Royals out-shot the Bobcats 41-24, picked up 41 ground balls, the highest in a single game this season, and had 20 draw controls.

Alyssa Hughes (Gaithersburg, Md./Damascus) led the Royals with four goals, while Kelley Duffey (New Hope, Minn./Cooper) led the team in points with six, three goals and three assists. Desiree Cox led Lees-McRae with five of the nine goals.

Queens will now play Conference Carolinas rival Belmont Abbey College on Saturday at 2:00 pm in Gaffney, S.C. If they defeat the Crusaders they will play for the Conference Championship on Sunday at 12:00 pm.

2008-04-17