BABSON PARK, Mass. – Senior captain Sarah Collins (Weymouth, Mass.) scored 19 points and grabbed 22 rebounds to lead the nationally-ranked Babson College women's basketball team to a 59-50 victory over visiting Smith College in a battle of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) unbeatens at Staake Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Babson, ranked 22nd in the country by D3hoops.com, improved to 14-1 overall and 8-0 in league play, as the Beavers extended their remarkable conference winning streak to 73 games and their home winning streak to 45 contests.
Losing for just the second time this winter, Smith fell to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in the NEWMAC.
Collins led all players with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and a 3-of-4 clip from the free throw line. She also collected a career-high 22 rebounds, blocked four shots, and dished out three assists in 38 minutes of action. First-year Linnett Graber (Roseland, N.J.) joined her teammate in double figures with 12 points – all of which came in the first half, while also adding seven boards and four assists.
Smith was paced by junior Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H.), who shot 5-for-8, including a 3-for-5 mark from long range, and 3-for-3 from the line for 15 points. Sophomore Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif.) netted 12 points while recording a game-high six steals, and senior captain Devon Quattrocchi (Brewster, N.Y.) added eight points and three assists while playing all but two minutes of the contest.
The Pioneers committed just 18 turnovers while forcing Babson into 35 miscues, but the hosts made up for it with a commanding 56-28 advantage on the glass.
After Babson battled back from an early five-point deficit to take a 11-9 lead on a Graber lay-up at 13:26 of the first half, Smith responded with a 10-0 run that featured a three-pointer by Solis and seven straight points from Drummond to go up 19-11 with 10:44 left in the period.
The Pioneers would match that eight-point lead after a Drummond trifecta made it 22-14 at 8:57, but Babson came storming back thanks to back-to-back threes from sophomore Briana Hunt (Newton, Mass.) and Graber to make it a two-point contest, 22-20, with six minutes to go in the half. Smith then pushed the difference to seven on multiple occasions in the final five minutes before a conventional three-point play by Graber with 35.4 on the clock cut the Beavers' deficit to four, 32-28, at the break.
After surrendering 32 points in the first half, the vaunted Babson defense stifled Smith in the second, allowing just 18 points on only seven field goals. A lay-up by Quattrocchi gave the Pioneers a 39-36 edge with 15:32 left in the game, but those would be the visitors' final points for the next seven minutes. Meanwhile, a bucket by Collins followed by a breakaway three-pointer by sophomore Erin Young (Westwood, Mass.) moved Babson in front to stay, 41-39, with 11:50 remaining, and Collins followed with three straight lay-ups to complete the 11-0 run and give the Beavers a 47-39 lead with nine minutes to go.
Smith refused to go quietly, fighting back to within two thanks to a 6-0 burst that was capped by a Drummond jumper that made it 47-45 with 4:44 on the clock. However, Babson would score the next seven points to put the game out of reach, starting with a nice move inside by Collins at 4:17 and later capped by a lay-up by senior captain Katerina Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) that made it 54-45 with 1:18 left in the game.
Solis hit a three for Smith to make it a two-possession game at 54-48 with under a minute left to play, but Hunt, Collins, and senior captain Allanah Wynn (Quincy, Mass.) combined to hit five of their team's six free throws in the last 36 seconds to secure the 59-50 win.
Mallios gave Babson 10 outstanding minutes off the bench in the victory, contributing four rebounds to go with her late bucket. Young added a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points, Hunt also netted six, and first-year Megan Otto (Scituate, Mass.) tacked on five rebounds.