CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—First-year Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) led four players in double figures with 16 points and Babson College closed the game with a 15-4 run to secure a 63-51 victory over MIT in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Rockwell Cage.

With its fifth consecutive conference win Babson moves to 6-7 overall and 6-3 in the NEWMAC, while MIT, which has dropped five of its last six games, drops to 6-8 overall and 3-6 in league play.

Sophomore Kristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) had 14 points and five rebounds, junior Lindsey Roche (Arlington, Mass.) scored 13 points off the bench, and first-year Jennifer Narlee (Medfield, Mass.) added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Beavers.

Sophomore Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) led all scorers with 17 points to go along with nine rebounds for the Engineers. Classmate Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif.) notched 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with seven boards.

Trailing 13-12 with 12:22 left in the first half, Babson outscored MIT 17-8 over the next 10:09 to grab its biggest lead of the stanza at 29-21 just 2:13 before the break. The Green and White, which shot 43.3 percent (13-for-30) in the opening 20 minutes, was  7-of-10 shooting during the run, getting five points from Ferola and four from Roche.

The Beavers six-point halftime lead quickly disappeared as the Engineers went on an 8-2 spurt out of the locker room, tying the game at 31-31 at the 17:26 mark on a layup by sophomore Durva Bhandare (North Brunswick, N.J.). Babson wasted little time in regaining control though, scoring on six of its next seven possessions and capping a 12-0 run on a layup by Roche to go ahead 43-31 with 13:36 remaining.

MIT did not go quietly, thanks in large part to Drammis, who scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half. The Engineers outscored the Green and White 16-5 over the next eight and a half minutes to get within 48-47 on a layup by junior Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.) with 5:04 to go in the game.

After the teams traded turnovers, the Beavers used an 11-0 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Roche to push the lead to 59-47 with 36 seconds left. Over the final 4:37, Babson held MIT to just a pair of field goals while forcing four turnovers to secure its fourth straight win.

The Green and White shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the field and outscored the Engineers 12-2 from the free throw line on the night. The Beavers also held a 35-29 edge on the glass, outscored MIT 30-18 in the paint and converted 15 turnovers into 25 points.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as Babson hosts Clark at 1 p.m. while MIT travels to WPI for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

GAME NOTES: Babson is 47-9 all-time against MIT and has won 11 straight over the Engineers since 2009…the Beavers are now 5-2 on the year when holding opponents to 55 points or less…Babson has won five straight contests when leading at halftime…Ferola is averaging 9.0 points against NEWMAC foes and has reached double figures in four of the last five games…During the Beavers current four-game winning streak Narlee is averaging 10.0 rebounds.