CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Dec. 10, 2011) – The Mount Holyoke College basketball team fell 43-36 to NEWMAC foe MIT this afternoon at the Rockwell Cage. Junior guard Angelica Pascual paced the Lyons with 13 points, four rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.

Mount Holyoke also received solid production from first year forward Amber Legare, who contributed nine points and five boards. Sophomore guard Annabel Barrett chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds. The Lyons finished with a 39-34 edge on the glass. They were limited to 27.3% (15-55) shooting from the floor.

Sophomore guard Tamara Pena and first year forward Alexxis Isaac netted 10 points apiece to set the tone for MIT, which moved to 3-1 in league play with its third win in a row. The Engineers shot 36.2% (14-47) from the field and drained five shots from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Rachel Hunt added eight points.

After falling behind 13-4 in the early going, Mount Holyoke exploded for a 12-2 run over the next four minutes. A layup by Legare capped off the rally and put the Lyons in front 16-15 at the 7:27 mark. MIT responded with a 6-0 spurt and took a 24-22 advantage into the locker room. Legare score all nine of her points before the break. Pena had five for the Engineers.

Mount Holyoke grabbed a 27-26 lead following a three-pointer by Pascual in the early stages of the second half. From there, it was all MIT (6-3, 3-1 NEWMAC). Pena ignited an 8-0 run with a three-pointer of her own at the other end, and the Engineers led by as many as 12 points down the stretch. Isaac scored six points after the intermission.    

The Lyons (1-7, 0-4 NEWMAC) will close out their fall semester at home against Worcester State University on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.