Lauber joins 1,000 point club, hits 11 straight late free throws for No. 6 Somerville to cement 52-44 win at in-town rival Immaculata

Scoring 1,000 points in a career is a milestone. Reaching a new career high is another great accomplishment.

But in a game where neither team could seed to hit a free throw late – Immaculata to get closer or Somerville to pull away – senior Kaylee Lauber took over, and hit 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch, including 11 in a row, to give the No. 6 Pioneers a 52-44 road win Thursday night, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It was the ninth straight win in the series for Somerville, and only the second in that stretch decided by more than ten points between the in-town rivals.

Lauber led all scorers with 30 points, a new career high. She needed five to reach the 1,000 mark in her career, and got it on a basket in the second quarter. Held to just two made free throws in the second half, she had 15 at the break.

The early going was tight, with three ties and four lead changes in a first quarter that saw Immaculata take a 17-9 lead through the first eight minutes. But Somerville outscored them 17-5 over the next eight, and led 26-22 at the half.

They never lost the lead, but there was one more tie at 27 in the third. The rest of the way was tight, too – 38-35 at the end of three – before Lauber’s free throws put the game away.

Besides her effort, Somerville was 0-for-4 from the foul line in the fourth quarter; Immaculata was 4-for-11.

Amaya Miller finished with 11 for the Pioneers (2-0, 1-0 Skyland Mountain Division), their only other player in double figures.

Immaculata got 15 from Alexa Regan, but Rhainya Brown was held to six on a pair of treys, one each in the third and fourth quarters.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Somerville senior Kaylee Lauber and head coach Matt Melesurgo, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen: