BOSTON—Junior Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) led three players in double figures with 16 points as visiting Babson College cruised past Emerson College, 77-56, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Brown-Plofker Gymnasium.
With its third straight win, Babson is 11-5 overall and 7-1 in league play, while Emerson drops to 5-10 overall and 3-6 in the NEWMAC.
Pickering added six rebounds and three assists for the Beavers, while senior Linnett Graber(Roseland, N.J.) finished with 14 points, seven boards and four assists. Classmate Marissa Cicchetti (Mansfield, Mass.) also scored 14 points to go along with game highs of five assists and four steals, and junior Ashley Snyder (Foxboro, Mass.) led all players with eight rebounds while dishing out a career-high three assists.
Sophomore Sierra Ducey (Poway, Calif.) and first-year Charlie Boyle (Scotts Valley, Calif.) both finished with 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the Lions.
Babson scored on five of its first seven possessions, including three-pointers from Graber, seniorKristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) and junior Taylor Russell (Braintree, Mass.), to open a 17-4 lead just over six minutes into the first quarter. Emerson, which trailed by 12 at the end of one, closed to within six at the 6:31 mark of the second quarter before the Beavers ripped off a 9-0 run, capped by a three-point play from Cicchetti following a steal to make it 35-20 with 4:24 to go until halftime. The Green and White, which led by as many as 16 late in the stanza, forced 18 first-half turnovers and led 41-27 at the break.
The Lions got as close as 12 early in the third quarter before Babson put the game away with a 10-0 burst. Pickering nailed a jumper, Graber converted a layup after the visitors grabbed three offensive rebounds, and Cicchetti followed with consecutive triples to make it 51-29 midway through the frame. Emerson got as close as 53-39 on a three-pointer by sophomore Eastin Ashby (Pittston, Pa.) with 2:12 left in the period, but Pickering scored the final four points of the third and senior Megan Otto (Scituate, Mass.) drained a jumper to push the lead back to 62-41 early in the fourth.
The Green and White shot 43.2 percent (32-of-74) from the field and finished 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. The Beavers also held a 35-30 edge on the glass and scored 18 points off turnovers.
The Lions shot just 31.5 percent (17-of-54) and were held to just five offensive rebounds on the night.
Babson returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Coast Guard at 1 p.m., while Emerson visits Wheelock on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 5-0 all-time against Emerson and has swept the season series in each of the last three seasons.
• The Beavers are 9-2 this season when forcing 18 or more turnovers.
• Babson has held 14 of its 15 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting.
• The Green and White is now 11-1 this season when outrebounding its opponents.
• The Beavers are 8-0 this winter and have won 23 of their last 25 games when scoring at least 60 points.