BABSON PARK, Mass. – The eighth-ranked Babson College women's basketball team opened with a 16-0 run and never looked back as the Beavers defeated visiting MIT, 70-40, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest at Staake Gymnasium on Tuesday night. With their 28th straight conference victory, the Beavers, ranked eighth in the country in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improve to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the NEWMAC, while the Engineers slip to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Babson was once again led by the trio of junior captain Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.), junior Nicki Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.), and sophomore Sarah Collins (Weymouth, Mass.), who combined for 43 points on 19-of-32 shooting from the field. King scored 16 points to go with five rebounds and four assists, Wurdeman added 13 points, seven boards, and four steals, and Collins finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and two blocked shots. Sophomore Allanah Wynn (Quincy, Mass.) and senior captain Becky Bowman (Melrose, Mass.) anchored the Beavers' backcourt in the win, with each contributing four points and two steals while combining for five assists.
MIT was paced by first-year Tamara Pena (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), who scored a team-high 12 points and pulled down six rebounds, and sophomore Anna Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii), who added seven points and seven caroms. First-year Rachel Hunt (Arlington Heights, Ill.) chipped in with five points and a game-high eight boards and sophomore Rebecca Odim (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tossed in six points off the bench for the Engineers.
Babson controlled the game from the start, scoring 16 straight points while holding MIT scoreless for the first eight minutes of play. Collins had six of her 14 first-half points during the opening run, while Wurdeman added four of her 13 first-half points. The Engineers would cut their deficit to 12 on two free throws and a lay-up by Merrifield – the first of three 12-point deficits over the remainder of the period – but they would get no closer as the Beavers eventually took a 39-18 lead into the locker room. The hosts would then maintain at least a 20-point cushion throughout the second half before claiming the 70-40 victory.