Sports

Easton's Battista Wins Gold Medal at Maccabiah Games

Easton's Lauren Battista, a senior at Bentley University, was part of the gold medal winning United States women's basketball team today at the 19th annual Maccabiah Games in Israel. The United States defeated Israel, 72-56. Canada was awarded the bronze medal

A former Oliver Ames standout, Battista  is a two-time Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II All-America and two-time Capital One Academic All-America.

"I am excited to explore a new culture through the sport that I love," said Battista before leaving for leaving for Israel. "It will give me the chance not only to see a beautiful country, but also will allow me to meet athletes from all around the world and make new friendships. I am grateful to have been chosen to join a team of talented players from all across the country to share this experience with.  It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I cannot wait to represent the United States on this international stage."

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Before the game started, Bentley coach Barbara Stevens, who had the opportunity to coach in Israel in 1994 with the USA Select Team, said "Lauren's selection to the US women's basketball team that will compete in the World Maccabiah Games this July is a tremendous honor for her.  The chance to compete against international competition is a fantastic opportunity that will prove to be extremely beneficial as she prepares for her senior season at Bentley."

Battista has been a standout on the court and in the classroom during her first three years at Bentley. She's a two-time Northeast-10 Sport Excellence Scholar-Athlete award winner and has been a fixture on the All-Northeast-10 team, earning Player of the Year honors in the conference in 2012.

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Number 10 on Bentley's all-time scoring list with 1,504 points, the unselfish Battista ranks in the top ten in program history in nine different statistical categories, including field goal percentage (.530, seventh) and free throw percentage (.804, fifth). In 100 career games, she's averaged 15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals while leading the Falcons to an amazing 89-11 record with three NE-10 regular season championships, three NE-10 playoff titles and two trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

As a junior, Battista put up numbers nearly identical to her career marks while leading the Falcons to an outstanding 30-2 season.

"We will have 12 very talented players representing the USA Open Women's Basketball team and our expectations are to reclaim the gold medal we won in 2005," said Jamie Shadian of Northern Arizona University, the team's coach. "What I hope the players accomplish off the court is to connect to their Jewish culture and heritage and that is as important as our on-court success."

The team received a week of training in the ISRAEL CONNECT cultural and had a guided tours every day after practice.



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