By Tom Robinson, NEPAElite.com

Rachael Rose and Kylie Lavelle kept up their high-scoring starts to the 2022-23 women’s basketball season, each hitting 20 points for the third time in victories by their National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I teams Tuesday.

The two NEPA Elite Clark 17U players were among 42 Division I players in the country averaging at least 20 points going into Tuesday’s games.

Each kept up the pace.

Rose had 22 points while playing every second of Wofford College’s 67-66 victory over North Carolina-Wilmington. The Scranton Prep graduate ranks in the top 20 nationally in minutes played.

Lavelle, a Riverside graduate, scored 20 points in 29 minutes in Drexel’s 84-61 victory over visiting Lehigh.

Wofford has won three straight since an 0-2 start with Rose scoring at least 20 in each win.

“After coming out to an 0-2 start, we realized this is our chance to turn it around,” Rose said, according to a recap posted on Wofford’s athletic website. “So, this game was really important, especially right before the Thanksgiving holiday, and we just wanted to go into the holiday with a win.”

Drexel improved to 3-0 at home and 3-1 overall.

Rose went 8-for-14 from the floor and was 4-for-6 for her season-high in 3-pointers. She also went 2-for-4 at the line, dished out four assists and made two steals.

Wofford pulled out the win on a late putback of a missed free throw.

“This wasn’t our best game offensively by any means,” Rose said, “but the way we stuck together and made our shots when it counted, I think that says a lot about the players we have in this locker room and the season we’re going to have ahead.”

Rose has made at least half her shots overall and from 3-point range in each of the last four games.

While averaging 20.4 points and 5.2 assists, Rose is shooting 37-for-67 (55.2 percent) from the floor, 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) on 3-pointers and 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) from the line.

Lavelle went 9-for-11 from the floor Tuesday and hit her only 3-point attempt.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Lavelle said, according to a recap on the Drexel athletic website. “I couldn’t do it without the seniors and upperclassmen. They talk me through everything I need to know on the court.

“It’s just a lot of fun to be out there.”

Lavelle improved her field goal shooting percentage to 65.2 (34-for-52). She is 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) on 3-pointers. The two-time Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week is averaging 20.5 points and leading the team with 6.0 rebounds per game.

Ranked 46th in the country in field goal percentage through Monday, Lavelle is likely to jump into the top 25 when the statistics are released Wednesday to include Tuesday’s action.

MORE COVERAGE

For more details on each of their performances, plus updates on Cecelia Collins’ role in a Bucknell win and Ethan Meuser’s continued accurate shooting at Stonehill, see the daily NCAA Division I basketball Alumni Report at: ALUMNI REPORT: D-I basketball – NEPA Sports Nation.