CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In its return to action following the holiday break, the MIT women's basketball team defeated Gordon College, 54-35, on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif.) paced the Engineers' (5-4) balanced attack with her third double-double of the season on 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three steals. Sophomore Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) led the Fighting Scots (2-7) with a game-high 13 points while adding 10 rebounds, five steals, and two assists.

Sophomore Alexxis Isaac (San Antonio, Texas) tallied 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists for MIT while classmate Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.) compiled nine points, seven boards, three assists, and three steals. Sophomore Michelle Battipaglia (Katonah, N.Y.) contributed eight points coming off the bench as junior Rachel Hunt (Arlington Heights, Ill.) registered six rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Senior Lauren Sascha Burton (Seattle, Wash.) bolstered the defense with six boards and two steals to go along with three assists.

Junior Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) totaled 13 points and two assists for Gordon as fellow classmate Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) chipped in five points and three rebounds.

After trading baskets to start the game, Kordell drained a three-pointer to give the Engineers a 5-2 edge following a minute of play. The Fighting Scots responded with eight straight points, including five from Kranyak, to go up 10-5 at the 16:02 mark. MIT slowly chipped away at the deficit as a layup from Hunt evened the score at 16 with 7:35 to go. Freshman Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) then put the hosts ahead for good as she stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and converted the easy layup which sparked a 14-3 run to close the half. Burton buried a jumper right before the buzzer sounded to give the Engineers a 32-19 lead at the intermission.

A Kordell basket quickly increased MIT's margin; however, Kranyak hit a free throw and a layup later on to narrow the gap to 12 (34-22) with 17:02 on the clock. This was as close as it would get as the Cardinal and Gray outscored Gordon, 16-7, during the next 10:35 to put the game out of reach and establish its largest margin of the day at 50-29.

Both squads continue non-conference play on the road on Wednesday, January 2. MIT will visit Johnson & Wales University while Gordon travels to Drew University.