KEENE, N.H.—Junior Payton Ouimette (Medfield, Mass.) finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and senior Brenna LeGacy (Attleboro, Mass.) added 16 points as the Babson College women's basketball team defeated Saint Joseph's College, 81-64, on the opening night of the Keene State Tip-Off Tournament on Friday at Spaulding Gymnasium.
LeGacy went 8-of-8 from the floor, while Ouimette connected on 8-of-11 shots and had a double-double by halftime for the Beavers (1-0). Sophomore Emily Bonifacic (Allendale, N.J.) finished with 11 points, junior Tea Spellacy(Belchertown, Mass.) chipped in with seven points and a career-high eight assists, and classmate Elizabeth Lane(Skaneateles, N.Y.) added nine points, five assists and four rebounds in the win.
Juniors Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) and Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) each scored 13 points to pace four players in double figures for the Monks (1-1).
LeGacy and Ouimette both connected on their first four shots to stake the Green and White to a 16-5 lead just over six minutes into the first quarter. The Beavers held Saint Joseph's to just 3-of-30 shooting in the first half and just one field goal over the final 16 minutes of the stanza while extending their lead to 21 at the break.
Ouimette and Bonifacic combined for five points to make it 29-12 with 2:17 to go in the second quarter. First-year Nicole Hiller(Rocky Hill, Conn.) drilled a three-pointer and Lane followed with the final three points of the frame to make it 35-14 going into the locker room.
LeGacy and Ouimette scored eight of Babson's first 10 points to extend the lead to 45-20 just over three minutes into the third quarter. Sophomore Vanessa Onwe (Tarrytown, N.Y.) hit a jumper to open the fourth quarter and the Beavers took their biggest lead of the night at 63-35 on a layup by Spellacy with 9:00 remaining.
The Green and White shot 52.4 percent on the night and finished with a 40-37 edge on the glass. The Beavers also scored 14 points off turnovers.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson faces Framingham in the championship game at 3 p.m., while Saint Joseph's takes on the host Owls in the 1 p.m. consolation game.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers and Monks met for just the third time overall and first time since 2001 on Friday night. Babson holds a 2-1 edge in the series.
• The Green and White has won 19 of its last 22 games away from home going back to 2015.
• Babson's 52.4 percent shooting effort on Friday is its best since shooting 56.1 percent in an 84-51 win over Clark back on January 14 of last season.
• The Beavers have won four straight season openers dating back to 2014.