Springfield, Mass. - December 14, 2022 - The Springfield College women's basketball team closed out the first semester with a 79-65 victory over Albertus Magnus in Blake Arena on Wednesday night.
Fresh off earning its highest national ranking in program history, Springfield won its eighth-straight game to improve to 9-1 on the season while handing Albertus Magnus its first loss of the year as they fell to 7-1. Springfield was ranked 11th in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com National poll and 13th in the most recent WBCA Division III Coaches Poll.
Kayla Madden (Ashland, Mass.) and Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) were sensational in the victory as the duo combined for 52 points and 24 rebounds. Madden netted a career-high 27 points to go along with 10 boards and five assists while Hourihan finished the night with 25 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists. Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals as Springfield owned a 51-31 advantage on the glass and totaled 22 assists on 30 made field goals.
Albertus Magnus jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening two minutes of the game and extended its lead to 17-11 at the 3:04 mark. Three-pointers by Madden and Emma Glaser (Norfolk, Mass.) provided the bookends of an 8-0 spurt that came in just over a minute as the Pride gained a 19-17 lead. Springfield would take a 21-19 lead into the second quarter after Lindsey Laughlan (Granby, Mass.) put back her own miss at the horn.
Springfield outscored the visitors by a 16-2 margin through the first 7:56 of the second quarter as its lead ballooned to 37-21 following an inside bucket from Madden. However, Albertus Magnus would close the first half on a 11-2 spurt to close within 39-32 at the halftime break.
The Falcons began the third quarter on a 8-2 run to make it a one-point game, but Springfield scored the next 13 points of the contest as Hourihan netted nine points to fuel the Pride to a 56-42 lead with 3:13 left in the third. Hourihan would finish with 11 points in the third as she helped Springfield own a 59-46 lead with one quarter to play.
After Glaser knocked down two from the stripe with 7:51 left in regulation which allowed the Pride's lead to grow to 64-49, Albertus Magnus made one final push, using a 10-2 surge to cut the lead to seven points. However, Hourihan knocked down a trifecta from the right wing next time down the court and Madden sealed the game with her fifth triple of the night with under three minutes to play as the Pride closed out the non-conference triumph.
The Pride will host the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic to close out 2022, beginning with a contest versus Trinity at 5:30 pm December 30.
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