CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Senior Linnett Graber (Roseland, N.J.) scored 19 points to become the 16th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points, and Babson College used a stifling defensive effort to defeat MIT, 73-41, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Rockwell Cage.

With its fifth straight win, Babson is now 13-5 overall and 9-1 in league play, while MIT, which saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end, slips to 13-5 and 8-2 in the NEWMAC.

Graber finished 8-of-9 from the floor and added five rebounds and three assists to lead the Beavers. Junior Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) also scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while senior Kristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) contributed 12 points. Classmate Megan Otto(Scituate, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and nine boards, and junior Taylor Russell(Braintree, Mass.) scored six points and led all players with 10 rebounds in the win.

Senior Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head Island, S.C.), who was hounded by Ferola for much of the night, scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-20 shooting.

After a slow start for both teams, Babson ripped off a 12-0 run to build an 18-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. All five starters scored over the opening 10 minutes and the Green and White held MIT to just 1-of-12 shooting while forcing six turnovers to take control of the game.

The Engineers cut their deficit to 12 on three occasions in the second quarter, but the Beavers used a 12-4 spurt over the final four minutes of the second quarter to build a 20-point halftime lead. A pair of hoops by Pickering around a layup from Otto made it 32-16 at the 3:01 mark, and Graber and Pickering followed a layup by first-year Elizabeth Lane (Skaneateles, N.Y.) with consecutive hoops to put Babson in front 38-18 going to the locker room.

The Green and White continued to roll out of the break, scoring on six of its first seven third-quarter possessions to open a 50-21 edge on a pair of free throws by Otto with 5:54 left in the stanza. Babson held a 61-31 advantage after three quarters and took its biggest lead of the night at 69-35 on two free throws by Pickering with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Beavers shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57), held a 44-34 edge on the glass and outscored MIT 42-12 in the paint. The Green and White also scored 17 points off of 15 Engineers' turnovers.

MIT, which failed to make a three-pointer for the first time since February 26, 2014, a span of 45 games, shot a season-low 25 percent (15-of-60) on the night.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Springfield at 1 p.m., while MIT travels to first-place WPI for a 5 p.m. tipoff.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 50-10 all-time against MIT and have won 14 of their last 15 against the Engineers.
• Babson has won eight straight games at Rockwell Cage and is 11-2 away from home against NEWMAC foes going back to last season.
• The Green and White has now held 17 of its 18 opponents this season below 40 percent shooting from the floor.
• The Beavers are 13-1 this winter when outrebounding their opponents.