BABSON PARK, Mass. – Sophomore center Sarah Collins (Weymouth, Mass.) recorded 26 points and 16 rebounds to earn Most Valuable Player honors as the Babson College Beavers defeated visiting Western Connecticut State University in overtime, 82-76, in the Championship Game of the 2010 Babson Invitational Tournament presented by Reebok. With the win, the Beavers, ranked 13th in the nation by D3hoops.com, improved to 3-0 on the season, while the Colonials, ranked 22nd in the country, fell to 2-1.
Collins' team-high 26 points came on 11-of-23 shooting from the field and a 4-of-5 clip from the line. The sophomore center also blocked five shots and recorded three steals in the win. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by junior Preseason All-American Nicki Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.), who scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds while also contributing three assists and three steals. Junior captain Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.) notched Babson's third double-double of the afternoon with 13 points and 16 boards, and senior captain Becky Bowman (Melrose, Mass.) tallied 10 points and six assists in the victory.
Western Connecticut State was paced by senior Heather Lee (Seymour, Conn.), who finished with a game-high 27 points to go with six rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and senior captain Melissa Teel (Hamden, Conn.), who just missed a triple-double with 13 points, 12 boards, and a game-high eight blocked shots. Both were named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior captain Karli Spera (Waterford, Conn.) also played well in defeat for the Colonials, scoring 15 points.
As expected in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams, both squads exchanged runs throughout the contest but were unable to put the game away. Lee and Teel combined to score WCSU's first ten points, as the visitors ran out to an early 10-5 lead in the opening five minutes. Babson then scored eight unanswered points as part of a 14-2 burst that put the Beavers in front, 19-12, with 10:43 left in the opening session. The hosts maintained the advantage for the rest of the period, eventually entering the break with a 39-28 lead.
Babson pushed its lead to as many as 14 early in the second half and still led by 12 at 49-37 with 14:14 left in regulation. The Colonials then rattled off 10 straight points to cut their deficit to two with 12:18 on the clock, and two minutes later a three-pointer by first-year Sciarra Brandt (Thomaston, Conn.) gave the visitors their first lead of the second half, 54-53, with 10:37 to go.
The two teams remained within five points of each other for the rest of the second period, with Babson taking a 68-64 lead on a King jumper with just under three minutes remaining. WCSU later cut it to two on a pair of free throws by junior Stephanie Slonski (Griswold, Conn.) with 2:21 on the clock, but neither team would score again until the closing seconds of regulation.
After a missed free throw by the Beavers with 15 seconds left, the Colonials pushed the ball up court where Spera hit a running jumper in the lane with 5.1 seconds showing, knotting the contest at 68-68. Babson then had a chance to win when Wurdeman drove the paint with one second left, but Teel came up with a game-saving block as the buzzer sounded, sending the contest into overtime.
Babson dominated the first four minutes of the overtime session, scoring nine unanswered points to build a 77-68 lead. Collins scored four points during the run, while King added three points and four key defensive rebounds. However, the Colonials refused to go quietly, with Teel hitting a turn-around jumper to spark a 7-2 run that cut the Beavers' lead to just four, 79-75, with 19.8 seconds on the clock.
After Collins and Spera each hit one of two from the line, Lee fired a three-pointer that would have cut it to just one with seven seconds remaining. However, the shot rimmed out and Collins corralled the rebound, forcing the Colonials to foul. She then knocked down both free throws at the other end as Babson held on for the thrilling 82-76 victory.