DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Senior Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) scored a game-high 17 points and classmate Taylor Russell (Braintree, Mass.) added 15 as Babson College defeated Mount Saint Mary College, 62-50, at the Daytona Beach Shootout on Wednesday afternoon at the Ocean Center.

The Beavers, who have won seven consecutive games, are now 8-1 on the year, while Mount Saint Mary falls to 8-2.

Pickering contributed six rebounds and four assists, while Russell pulled down nine boards and chipped in with two steals to pace a balanced Beavers' attack. Sophomore Tea Spellacy (Belchertown, Mass.) finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting to go along with three steals and senior Jennifer Narlee (Medfield, Mass.) added 10 rebounds and four assists in the win.

Junior Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Knights.  

The Green and White led 10-9 after one thanks to a pair of first-quarter three-pointers from Russell, and outscored Mount Saint Mary 22-9 in the second quarter to build a 14-point halftime lead. Pickering scored six consecutive points to push the Beavers' lead to 21-13 at the 5:39 mark, while Russell connected on a pull up jumper and a pair of free throws late in the stanza to make it 32-18 at the break.

Spellacy knocked down a three-pointer and first-year Paula Materin (Madison, Conn.) had five points during a 12-0 third-quarter run that gave Babson its biggest advantage of the game at 48-23 with 4:51 to go in the third quarter. The Knights, who trailed by 19 entering the fourth, pulled within 56-44 on a jumper by Rini with 4:39 to go in the contest, but consecutive hoops by Pickering and a jump shot from Russell extended the Beavers' margin to 62-45 in the closing minutes.

Despite shooting a season-low 34.3 percent (24-of-70), Babson matched its season high with six three-pointers and turned 24 Mount Saint Mary turnovers into 18 points. The Beavers also finished with a 49-38 edge on the glass.

The Knights shot just 33.9 percent (20-of-59) and were outrebounded for the first time this season.

Babson will host Salisbury at Staake Gymnasium on December 29 at 2 p.m., while Mount Saint Mary visits Mount Saint Vincent on January 4 at 4 p.m.

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers, who were playing Mount Saint Mary for the first time in program history, are 2-0 this season against Skyline Conference opponents.
•    Babson is 7-0 this season and 26-2 since the start of last year when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
•    Narlee has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in eight consecutive games going back to November 20.
•    The Beavers are 7-0 this season when forcing their opponents into at least 18 turnovers.