Rivier's Lyric Grumblatt had a carer high 46 points in a win at Lasell on Wednesday night. (File photo)

NEWTON, Mass. — Graduate student Lyric Grumblatt recorded a career-high 46 points to lead the Rivier women’s basketball team past Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent Lasell, 83-64, on Wednesday evening at the Lasell Athletic Center.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 10-9 (6-2 GNAC), while the Lasers dropped to 10-9 (5-3 GNAC).

Grumblatt and first-year Sydney Perry combined for eight of Rivier’s first 11 points, helping the Raiders jump out to an early 11-6 lead at the 4:48 mark of the first quarter. Lasell fought back to tie the game at 13 apiece before Grumblatt responded with six straight points to give Rivier a 19-16 lead at the end of the quarter.

Senior Alexa Dufries knocked down a three-pointer to ignite a 13-0 Raiders run, pushing their advantage to 37-21 with just under two minutes remaining in the first half and forcing Lasell into a timeout. The Lasers responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit, but Grumblatt sank a pair of free throws to bring her total to 25 points and send Rivier into halftime with a 39-28 lead.

The Raiders opened the second half with a 7-2 run, capped by a pull-up jumper from graduate student Hannah Muchemore, extending their lead to 46-30 at the 7:20 mark of the third quarter. Lasell trimmed the deficit to 10, but Perry converted an and-one layup, and Grumblatt drilled a three-pointer to reestablish a 16-point cushion. Grumblatt closed out the quarter in dominant fashion, scoring Rivier’s final 11 points as the Raiders took a 63-48 lead into the final frame.

Five straight points from Dufries extended the Raiders’ lead to 21, making it 71-50 with 6:28 left in the game. The teams continued to trade baskets before Grumblatt capped off her night with five straight points, bringing her total to 46 at the 1:53 mark and sealing Rivier’s 83-64 victory.

Grumblatt shot an efficient 18-of-30 (60%) on her way to a career-high 46 points, while also adding seven rebounds and four steals. Dufries followed with 14 points and three rebounds. Perry contributed eight points and seven rebounds. Muchemore added eight points and dished out a team-high seven assists.

The Raiders used 15 assists compared to Lasell’s eight to record their highest scoring total of the season at 83 points. Rivier also outperformed Lasell 28-13 in points off turnovers, 16-10 in second-chance points, and 36-26 in points in the paint.

The Raiders are back in action on Saturday for a GNAC road matchup against JWU (Providence) at the Wildcat Center. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

LASELL 92, RIVIER 81

The loss in Newton, Mass. dropped the Raiders’ record to 10-9 (3-5 GNAC) while the Lasers remained unbeaten through eight conference games and improved to 16-4 overall.

Trailing by one following a layup by graduate student Ra’Quan Groves at the 13:19 mark of the first half, the Lasers would put together a 14-2 run over the next 3:10 of action to take a commanding 26-13 advantage. The Raiders rallied to cut the deficit to just one with 6:02 remaining as a bucket from graduate Odarius Cade made it 34-33 in favor of the hosts.

Lasell finished the first half on a 13-6 run to take a seven-point edge to the locker room.

The Lasers’ lead was propelled to double digits again just 5:23 into the second half on a steal-and-score by Esmer Madesko. A four-point play from junior guard Robenson Baguidy a minute later helped Rivier cut the gap to three yet again before the deficit was cut to its lowest point of the half at 57-56 on a jumper from grad student Kyler Bosse. Despite several late pushes from the Raiders, the Lasers took back control of the game throughout much of the final stretch, leading by as many as 12 with 57 seconds to play to maintain their conference unbeaten streak.

Bosse led the Raiders offensively with 30 points on 13-of-21 (61.9%) off the bench with four rebounds. Junior Matt Constant followed with 17 points as Baduidy poured in 14.

Both teams shot nearly 50% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc while the Lasers buried 22 of their 27 free throw attempts (81.5%).

Rivier will look to get back in the win column in a Saturday showdown at JWU (Providence) with a 3 p.m. tip-off at the Wildcat Center.