BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Osheiza Otori (Metairie, La.) scored the go-ahead hoop with 41 seconds remaining and made one of two free throws with eight seconds left as visiting MIT slipped past Babson College, 57-56, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Staake Gymnasium.

With the victory, MIT is now 11-13 overall and tied for the seventh and final playoff spot at 8-11 in the NEWMAC. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Babson, which falls to 13-11 overall and 12-7 in conference play. The Green and White are currently tied for fourth place in the league standings with Wellesley, but will need to win and have the Blue lose in order to host a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal next week. 

Junior Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.) poured in a game-high 23 points while sophomore Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head Island, S.C) added 17 points to go along with game-highs eight rebounds and five steals. Senior Rachel Hunt (Arlington Heights, Ill.) had a game-high five blocked shots in the win.

Sophomore Linnett Graber (Roseland, N.J.) led four players in double figures with 13 points  for the Beavers. Sophomore Briana Hunt (Newton, Mass.) and first-year Jennifer Narlee (Medfield, Mass.) both had 11, while first-year Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) added 10. SophomoreKristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds.

Babson struggled through the opening 10 minutes, missing nine of its first 12 shots from the field and committing seven turnovers. MIT started 7-of-13 from the floor, getting 14 of its first 16 points from Drammis and Cordell, to build a 16-9 lead at the 9:57 mark.

The Beavers held the Engineers without a field goal for nearly five minutes and used a 7-0 spurt to tie the game at 16-16 on a jumper by Pickering with 5:16 to go before halftime. The Green and White took its first lead since the opening possession of the game on another hoop by Pickering and grabbed its biggest lead of the half on a bucket by Narlee two possessions later to make it 24-20 just 2:49 before the break. MIT scored the final five points of the stanza and led 28-26 going into the locker room following a layup by sophomore Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif.).

Babson outscored the Engineers 9-2 to open the second half, taking its biggest lead of the game at 37-31 on a pair of free throws by Narlee at the 13:02 mark. MIT ran off the next seven points though, taking a 38-37 advantage on a free throw – the first of six lead changes over the final 9:04.

Pickering countered with three straight points for the Beavers, but Kordell drilled a three-pointer to knot the game 41-41 with 7:31 left. Ferola put the Green and White in front 49-46 with two free throws with 4:50 to go, but Kordell buried another three two possessions later to force one of seven second-half ties.

Ramachandran made one of two at the line to put MIT ahead 52-51 with 1:41 remaining, but Graber converted a layup off her own steal with 1:26 to go to put Babson back in front by one. On the ensuing possession, Kordell missed a jumper but the Engineers maintained possession after the ball went out of bounds. Following the inbounds play, Hunt caught an entry pass on the low block and fed a cutting Otori, who finished the layup for her only field goal of the night and a 54-53 lead.

First-year Liana Ilutzi (East Hanover, N.J.) made two free throws with 24 seconds left following an MIT stop to make it 56-53. Otori then grabbed the rebound of Hunt's three-pointer and sealed the victory by making 1-of-2 from the line with eight seconds left. Babson junior Erin Young(Westwood, Mass.) hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

The Beavers shot just 36.2 percent (21-for-58) on the night, while the Engineers shot 39.6 percent (19-for-48). The Green and White held a 39-37 advantage on the glass and 28-14 edge in points in the paint.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson travels to Clark for its regular-season finale at 1 p.m., while MIT hosts WPI at 3 p.m. with the winner earning the final spot in next week's NEWMAC Tournament.

GAME NOTES: Wednesday loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Beavers over MIT…Babson leads the all-time series against the Engineers 47-10…Young's three-pointer at the buzzer moved her into second place all-time with 139 made three-point field goals…Babson is now 3-4 on the season in games decided by five points or less…the Beavers are now 13-6 on the year when scoring 50 points or more.