BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) led four players in double figures with 15 points and added six steals and three assists to help No. 10 WBCA/No. 13 D3hoops.com Babson College pull away for a 69-44 win over Maine Maritime Academy in the first round of the Division III NCAA Tournament on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson improves to 24-5 on the year and advances to the second round of the national tournament for the second consecutive season. Maine Maritime, which was making its first NCAA appearance since 2007, sees its year come to a close at 22-7.

Senior Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) and junior Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) both scored 13 points and senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) contributed 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Beavers. Junior Rachel McMenemy (Northborough, Mass.) finished with six points off the bench, while first-year Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) finished with six and five rebounds, respectively.

Graduate student Lauren Plissey (Hermon, Maine) scored 17 points and led all players with nine rebounds, while sophomore Erianna Moore (Fitchburg, Mass.) added eight points, five boards and three assists.

Maine Maritime made just one field goal while turning the ball over nine times but went 7-of-8 at the free throw line to pull within 11-10 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. The Green and White opened up a 19-12 advantage thanks to two straight buckets by Bauman and a layup by McMenemy just over two minutes into the second and were as many as eight at the 3:53 mark but Plissey went 4-of-4 at the free throw line and junior Holly Reeder-Morning (Kingston, Mass.) drained a late jumper to help the Mariners pull within 30-28 at the half.

Smith opened the third quarter with back-to-back hoops and Mollica drained the first of her three second-half triples to stretch the margin back to 39-30 just over three minutes into the frame. Plissey answered with four straight points but Babson responded with consecutive buckets from McMenemy and a jumper by Bauman to take its first double-digit lead of the night at 47-36 with 2:07 to go in the period.

Silk and Perreault finished the third with a layup apiece and Mollica sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a transition jumper by Smith to push the Beavers' lead to 62-44 with 7:35 to play. Junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) canned a trifecta from the top of the key on the following possession and Mollica knocked down another jumper to make it 67-44 with 4:18 remaining.

The Green and White shot 45.5 percent on the night and outscored Maine Maritime 30-14 in the paint in addition to finishing with a 42-37 edge on the glass. The Mariners shot just 25 percent from the floor but did outscore the Beavers 15-4 at the free throw line.

Babson will take on SUNY New Paltz in the second round of the Babson Park Regional on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. inside Staake Gymnasium.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 1-0 all-time against Maine Maritime and improve to 7-1 in NCAA Tournament first round games since 2010.
• Friday's contest was the first in NCAA Tournament play inside Staake Gymnasium since 1993 when it suffered a loss to Capital (Ohio) in the sectional semifinals.
• The Beavers are 21-0 on the year when holding their foes below 40 percent shooting.
• Babson has won 59 consecutive games when allowing fewer than 50 points.
• Walsh's six steals are the most by a Babson player in an NCAA Tournament game since 1994 when Maura Fleming '94 recorded seven in a win over Western Connecticut.