Cambridge, MA --- WPI drained 7-of-8 at the charity stripe in the final 1:46 to secure a 62-49 victory over MIT in a NEWMAC women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Senior Dani Davis (East Granby, CT) led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed five rebounds for WPI (12-6, 4-5 NEWMAC) while senior Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, MD) paced MIT (7-11, 3-6 NEWMAC) with 16 points and three assists.
WPI raced out to a 21-6 advantage midway through the first half as junior Lisa Mendez (Yonkers, NY) and freshman Ama Biney (Worcester, MA) both accounted for five points. Back-to-back layups by junior Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head Island, SC) ended MIT's four-minute scoring drought but the visitors put together a 6-2 spurt that increased their margin to 27-12 with 6:09 left in the frame. Following over a minute of scoreless play, a Kordell jumper ignited an 11-0 run as her three-pointer with 16 seconds to go not only brought MIT within 27-23 at the intermission but produced her seventh point of the rally.
After a basket by WPI sophomore Tess Nogueira (Merrimac, MA) to open the second stanza, senior Osheiza Otori (Metairie, LA) buried a trey to cut MIT's deficit in half (29-26). Davis responded with a trifecta of her own, sparking a 13-3 run that saw her score four more points in helping WPI go up, 42-29, with 13:17 on the clock. MIT managed to narrow the gap to six on three occasions, the last at 55-49 on a Drammis layup with 1:46 remaining in regulation. WPI then closed out the game by sinking seven free throws during the final 45 seconds.
Drammis finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the year while producing two assists and two blocks. Junior Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, CA.) totaled nine points and eight boards while Otori rounded out the squad with eight points and two steals.
Mendez generated 12 points coming off the bench for WPI as senior Amaia Gritsko (Milford, CT) posted 10 points and seven rebounds. Biney notched 11 points and eight boards while seniorRachel Pineda (Shrewsbury, MA) dished out a game-high five assists.
Both squads continue NEWMAC play in their next outings. MIT will visit Babson on Wednesday, Jan. 28 while WPI will host Springfield on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Release Courtesy MIT Sports Information