CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Nine unanswered points during a span of seven minutes helped propel MIT to a 43-36 victory over Mount Holyoke College in a NEWMAC women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Alexxis Isaac (San Antonio, Texas) tallied 10 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists as the Engineers improved to 6-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference play. Junior Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass.) led all scorers with 13 points and added four rebounds, four steals, and two assists for the Lyons (1-7, 0-4 NEWMAC).
MIT quickly established a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes, courtesy of six points from sophomore Rachel Hunt (Arlington Heights, Ill.), before going up, 13-4, on a three-pointer from sophomore Tamara Pena (Aliso Viejo, Calif.). Mount Holyoke responded with a 12-2 run to capture its first lead of the day with 7:27 on the clock. Freshman Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass.) fueled the spurt with six points while Pascual added four of her own. On the Engineers' ensuing possession, Isaac put the Engineers back in front but Legare converted the first of her two free throws to even the score at 17.
A trey by sophomore Sharon Hao (San Jose, Calif.) ended the deadlock as a basket from junior Anna Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii) increased MIT's edge to 22-17 with 2:49 to go. Sophomore Annabel Barrett (Williamstown, Mass.) buried a three-pointer on the Lyons' next trip down the court; however, layups from Merrifield and Pascual maintained the two-point margin as the Engineers entered halftime with a 24-22 lead.
A layup from Hunt in the opening moments of the second stanza gave the hosts some breathing room, but a layup and three-pointer from Pascual briefly returned the advantage to Mount Holyoke. Pena followed with a trifecta which put MIT ahead for good as junior Lauren Sascha Burton (Seattle, Wash.) added another basket from behind the arc while an Isaac jumper resulted in a seven-point margin (34-27).
In a span of 11 seconds Angelica Pascual and junior Stephanie Pascual (Lawrence, Mass.) converted layups, trimming Mount Holyoke's deficit to three (34-31) at the 13:58 mark. The Engineers replied with their pivotal nine-point run with freshman Mari Kordell's (Ijamsville, Md.) three-pointer ending four minutes of scoreless play and creating a 43-31 cushion with 6:14 remaining in regulation.
The defensive battle resumed as junior Jasmine Brown (Enfield, Conn.) and freshman Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W. Va.) contributed the final baskets of the game, a layup just inside three minutes and a three-pointer with 28 seconds left, respectively for the Lyons.
Pena totaled 10 points, seven rebounds, a steal, and a block while Hunt posted eight points, six boards, two assists, and a block for MIT. Hao chipped in five rebounds and two assists as Burton grabbed two steals.
Legare notched nine points and five rebounds while Barrett finished with seven points and seven boards. Senior Tricia Chase (Feeding Hills, Mass.) rounded out Mount Holyoke with seven caroms.
Both squads will host non-conference foes in their upcoming games. MIT will return to action on Friday, Dec. 30 against Simmons College while Mount Holyoke will take on Worcester State University on Tuesday, Dec. 13.