NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior attack Mia Basile scored a game-high eight goals and senior attack Lauren Leddy added five as fourth-seeded Merrimack ended fifth-seeded Bentley University's season on Tuesday afternoon with a 24-11 victory in the first round of the Northeast-10 women's lacrosse Tournament. Senior Alyssa Ritchie (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) scored four points to tie the NE-10 career scoring record with 326 points. The Falcons finish the season with an overall record of 9-9.

In addition to tying the NE-10 career scoring record in this game, Ritchie also broke her own program record for most points in a single-season with 93. She recorded 92 points as a sophomore. The midfielder finishes her career as the school's all-time leader in goals, assists and points with a scoring line of 198-128-326.

Basile was the key player in a run by Merrimack that turned a 6-5 lead for the Warriors into a 16-8 advantage at halftime.

With Merrimack holding a 6-5 lead at the 20:43 mark of the first half after a goal by Griffin on a free-position shot, the Warriors scored 10 of the game's next 13 goals to lead 16-8 at halftime. Basile's sister, Maddie, scored the next goal, and Mia followed up with two of the next three as Merrimack scored five in a row to take an 11-5 lead.

Bentley scored two of the next three goals, with Griffin and junior Michelle LaRosa (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) finding the back of the net. The Falcons though didn't have an answer for the Merrimack attack, as Leddy scored two straight goals, followed by two in a row from Mia Basile. All told, Mia Basile scored four goals during the run.

The Warriors effectively squashed any hopes of a Bentley rally in the second half by scoring the first three goals after halftime to take a 19-8 lead. Ritchie, Griffin and junior Erica de Silva (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) each had a team-high four points.

Merrimack will take on top-seed New Haven in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

2009-04-28