THE BASICS:
- Score: Babson College 76, MIT 71
- Records: MIT (3-3, 0-1 NEWMAC); Babson (2-1, 0-1 NEWMAC)
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
- The Lead: A layup by Peyton Ouimette along with a 5-of-6 performance by Babson College at the free throw line during the last 50 seconds of regulation helped thwart MIT's late rally as the Beavers held on to defeat the Engineers, 76-71, in NEWMAC women's basketball action on Wednesday night. Ouimette led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds while senior Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash.) paced MIT with 16 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Engineers built a 16-12 lead after a three-pointer by sophomore Jocelyn Luizzi (Colchester, Conn.) with 2:23 left in the first quarter. Babson replied with a layup by Elizabeth Lane exactly 33 seconds later, igniting an 18-0 run that spanned 6:12 and gave the visitors a 30-16 advantage at the 5:38 mark of the second quarter.
- A trey by senior Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) during MIT's ensuing possession ended the scoring drought and set off a 7-3 spurt that narrowed the gap to 32-23 with 3:48 on the clock. Ouimette's layup quickly reestablished the double-digit margin before the Beavers entered halftime with a 41-27 lead.
- Babson's margin grew to 17 (52-35) courtesy of a jumper by Ouimette just over three minutes into the third quarter. The remainder of the frame was an exchange of baskets as a put-back by V'Dovec trimmed the deficit to 59-45 with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter.
- V'Dovec carried the momentum into the fourth quarter by knocking down a three-pointer after 53 seconds elapsed. However, the Beavers countered with a 6-2 burst, increasing their lead to 65-50 at the 7:12 mark. MIT gradually put together a 13-2 run, capitalizing on Luizzi's trey to come within four (67-63) with 2:18 left to play.
- After an exchange of possessions, Teá Spellacy's layup created some breathing room for Babson but Luizzi immediately drained one of her own to once again bring the Engineers within four points with 1:02 on the clock. This was as close as it would get as a layup by Ouimette was followed by a 4-of-4 performance at the free throw line by Katherine Tamulionis. Luizzi knocked down another layup with eight seconds to go, but Spellacy drained the second of two shots at the charity stripe to secure the victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Luizzi finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a 2-of-3 performance from behind the arc, while grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore Kylie Gallagher (Upton, Mass.) totaled 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds while senior Dolly Yuan (Sudbury, Mass.) posted 10 points and four assists.
- Tamulionis registered 15 points, followed by 12 from Spellacy. Lane tallied a game-high seven assists and two steals.
- Babson ended the night with advantages in points in the paint (44-34), points off turnovers (17-7), second-chance points (15-9), and rebounds (37-28).
- MIT had a slight edge in field-goal percentage, shooting 50.9 percent (27-53), while the Beavers finished at 48.4 percent (31-64).
UP NEXT:
- Both teams continue NEWMAC play with home games on Saturday, Dec. 1. MIT will host Clark University at 1:00 p.m. while Babson will tip off against Smith College an hour earlier.
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