South Hadley, Mass. - February 19, 2022 - The Springfield College women's basketball program cruised to a 84-47 win over Mount Holyoke on Saturday afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
Springfield, who was ranked No. 19 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III National Coaches poll, closes the regular season with a 21-3 record and will be seeded third in next week's NEWMAC Championship Tournament. Mount Holyoke closes the season at 2-16. The Pride shot 54.5% from the field on 36-of-66 shooting with 23 assists. The victory marks the fifth time this season that Springfield has scored 80 or more points.
Sidney Wentland (Elk River, Minn.) scored 16 on 7-of-11 from the floor to go along with five rebounds and five assists to lead Springfield. Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) produced 11 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes, while Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) put forth a 11-point, eight-rebound effort in 14 minutes of action.
Annika Brooks carried the Lyons with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Marley Berano added 13 off the bench in the setback.
Springfield raced out to a 13-3 lead midway through the first as Stephanie Lyons (Boston, Mass.) canned a three at 6:04 off the second effort from Hourihan. Springfield carried its lead up to 22-6 as Jaélen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) scored inside and forced a Mount Holyoke timeout with 2:23 remaining in the first. A lay in with five seconds left from Czeremcha put Springfield ahead 27-10 after the first quarter.
Springfield held the hosts to just nine points in the second quarter and used a 20-5 burst to take a 47-15 lead following a Wentland basket with 1:12 remaining in the half. Springfield shot 53% in the second stanza on 9-of-17 from the floor. Springfield would continue to improve its lead in the third quarter as Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) made major contributions in the quarter hitting back-to-back jumpers including a trifecta at 3:35 that made the score 64-29. Vinton was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field for eight points in the third quarter. The balanced scoring and early runs allowed Springfield coast in the fourth quarter to the 84-47 win to close the regular season.
Springfield will now host the NEWMAC Championship Tournament quarterfinal contest next Wednesday against Coast Guard.
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