Springfield, MA --- Dani Davis (East Granby, CT) netted a career-best 19 points and corralled a team-high seven rebounds to lift visiting WPI to a 62-52 victory over Springfield in a NEWMAC women's basketball contest played on Friday evening. 

WPI ups its record to 4-3, 2-2 in league play, while Springfield drops to 1-6, 0-4. 

After Haili Welton (Southbury, CT) drilled a step-back three pointer at the 12:25 mark, WPI found themselves with a comfortable 20-4 lead. After head coach Naomi Graves burned a timeout, the Pride clamped down on defense rattled off a 10-0 run, capped off by a three-point play by Heather Lewis (Saratoga Springs, NY), to make it a 20-14 game at the 5:02 mark. 

The Engineers answered back with an inside bucket from Davis and a deep three from Kelly Morgan (Brookline, NH) to regain an 11-point cushion. Springfield turned to Jaimie Bickelhaupt (Brookfield, CT) and Lewis down the stretch, and the duo led the hosts to an 11-2 run, to cut WPI's lead to 27-25 heading into intermission. Bickelhaupt netted six in the spurt while Lewis added five of her own. 

Springfield took its first lead of the game following a three-point play by Tamara Tribble(White Plains, NY) 1:21 into the second half after a great inside look by Andrea Moschetta(Harrison, NY). The Pride would soon find itself up four on a Bickelhaupt jumper in the paint at 16:04, to go up 33-29. 

WPI buckled down on defense to claw back into the contest. Using its full-court press, the Engineers grinded out a 16-2 spurt, with Logan's layup at 7:53 giving the visitors a 45-35 lead. 

With 2:08 on the clock, Lewis scored in transition after Springfield's defense forced a turnover, cutting WPI's lead to 54-49 with just 2:08 left in regulation. However, the Engineers were clutch from the line, hitting all eight of their foul shots to clinch the 10-point victory. 

Theresa Logan (Southboro, MA) notched 10 points and five boards, while Morgan contributed nine points. Rachel Pineda (Shrewsbury, MA) ended the evening with a team-best five helpers. While shooting just 18-for-52 (34.6%) for the game, WPI made their free throws count, knocking down 21 of 22 attempts. 

For Springfield, Lewis continued to be especially effective on the offensive side of the ball, pouring in 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Bickelhaupt had her best game of the season thus far, posting 15 rebounds and 14 points. Springfield was once again sloppy with the ball, committing 25 turnovers that translated into 21 WPI points.

After a break for final exams, WPI returns to the court on Tuesday, December 18th, heading to Anna Maria for a 7pm matchup with the AMCATS. Springfield will play its final game of the semester on Tuesday evening when it travels south to take on Albertus Magnus at 7pm.

Release Courtesy Springfield Sports Information 

Release Courtesy Springfield Sports Information