THE BASICS:

- Score: MIT 49, Wellesley College 32

- Records: MIT (16-6, 10-3 NEWMAC); Wellesley (8-12, 5-9 NEWMAC)

- Location: Wellesley, Mass. (Towne Fieldhouse)

- The Lead: Key runs during the second and fourth quarters helped the regionally-ranked No. 9 MIT women's basketball team defeat Wellesley College, 49-32, in a NEWMAC game on Wednesday night. Senior Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) paced the Engineers with 13 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- A jumper by first-year Christina Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) gave MIT an 11-10 edge with 1:23 left in the opening frame. The score remained unchanged until Wellesley drained a free throw at the 6:28 mark of the second quarter. The Engineers quickly responded with a layup by sophomore Jocelyn Luizzi (Colchester, Conn.), sparking a string of 12 unanswered points during the next four minutes, establishing 23-11 advantage. The Blue ended its scoring drought with 1:26 on the clock but senior Dolly Yuan (San Jose, Calif.) knocked down a three-pointer with 32 seconds remaining, giving MIT a 26-13 cushion at halftime.

- The tight play returned in the third quarter as both teams combined for 18 points. A layup by Holinski increased the Engineers' lead to 30-15 with 7:49 on the clock. Wellesley chipped away at the deficit as a long jumper at the buzzer brought it within 33-24 heading into the final frame.

- A pair of layups by the Blue sandwiched a Yuan three-pointer, narrowing the gap to eight (36-28) after 1:24 elapsed in the fourth quarter. A defensive battle ensued until Luizzi made a layup at the 6:16 mark, however, another Wellesley layup once again brought it within eight (38-30) with 4:44 left to play. This was as close as it would get as a trey by Holinski during the Engineers' next possession `set off an 11-2 game-ending run.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Luizzi finished with 10 points and eight rebounds as Antonakakis posted 10 points coming off the bench.

- Senior Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash.) hauled in a game-high nine boards and generated two blocks while Yuan dished out five assists.

- MIT ended the night with advantages in rebounds (33-26), points off turnovers (18-9), second-chance points (8-2), and bench scoring (13-11). Wellesley, meanwhile, had the upper hand in points in the paint (16-10).

UP NEXT:

- MIT returns to Rockwell Cage on Saturday, Feb. 9 when it hosts NEWMAC rival Smith College at 2:00 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.