Purcell's 27 lead Raiders past Plymouth State in the 2012 Boys and Girls Classic

(CONCORD, N.H.) The Rivier University women's basketball team scored 19 unanswered points early in the second half and then held off a 17-1 Plymouth State University rally Tuesday evening to defeat the Panthers, 78-71, in the first game of the Boys and Girls Club Classic, hosted by NHTI at the Crocker Center.

Sophomore Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) scored a game-high 27 points for the Raiders to lead all scorers. She scored 11 of the 19 points in Rivier's rally, including a pair of three-point shots and a traditional three-point play, which gave the Raiders a 59-31 lead with 12:36 remaining.

The Panthers didn't give up, and went on a rally of their own. Down 30 at one point and trailing by 29 with 7:25 remaining, PSU rattled off a 17-1 burst, including 10 unanswered points, to whittle the deficit to 13 points (74-61) with three minutes to play. The Panthers got the margin down to single digits in the final minute but time ran out on their comeback.

Purcell, who converted 10-of-15 from the field, was one of three Raiders to score in double figures, as junior A.J. Guidi (Derry, NH/Pinkerton) added 13 points and junior Britney Lane (Waterford, Vt.) chipped in with 10. Rivier won its second straight to even its season record at 2-2.

Plymouth State had a balanced offensive attack with four players scoring in double figures. Junior Krystin Corliss (Loudon, N.H./Merrimack Valley) finished with a team-leading 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists while freshman Bry Bennett (Lancaster, N.H./White Mountains Regional) tallied 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, senior Katie Seraikas (Concord, N.H./Bow) added12 points and six boards, and junior Meghan Faretra (Bow, N.H./Tilton School) chipped in with 11 points.

The first half was close most of the way, with Rivier holding a three-point lead with six minutes remaining. The Raiders put up eight straight points and eventually took a 40-28 margin in the intermission.

PSU freshman Taylor Perry (Simsbury, Conn.) opened the second half with a three-pointer to cut the margin to nine points, but River scored the next 19 points over the next seven minutes to open up what turned out to be an insurmountable lead.

The Panthers, 1-3, will play a non-conference game Thursday at Salem State University, while Rivier returns home to host Fitchburg State University on Thursday in a non-conference affair. Game time is set for 7pm inside the Muldoon Gymnasium.