BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to help No. 10/13 Babson College defeat visiting Marietta College, 73-59, in an NCAA Tournament sectional semifinal on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson improves to 26-5 on the year and advances to Saturday's sectional final for the first time since 2011. Marietta sees its season come to a close at 22-8.

Senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) scored 17 points and went 10-of-10 at the free throw line, while junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) contributed 14 points and seven rebounds for the Beavers. Senior Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and led all players with three blocks in the victory.

Senior Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va.) had 12 points and five rebounds and junior Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa.) scored 10 points for the Pioneers. Senior Erin Hahn (Louisville, Ky.) pulled down a game-high eight boards and added two steals in the loss.

The teams combined for 11 lead changes in the opening quarter before Smith scored four straight points to take a 19-16 advantage. Junior Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio) made 1-of-2 free throws for Marietta with two seconds to go in the stanza before the Green and White outscored the visitors 12-0 over the first 7:53 of the second to take control of the game.

Five different players scored during the spurt as the Beavers built their largest lead of the night at 31-17 thanks to a pair of free throws by Bauman with 2:24 to go until halftime. The Pioneers trailed by 12 at the break but shot 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) in the third quarter to get as close as six on three occasions, the last coming at 45-39 with two free throws by Hefner with 30 seconds remaining in the period.

Bauman found sophomore Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) for a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and then hit a triple of her own to push the Babson advantage back to 51-39 with 9:11 to play in the fourth. Marietta pulled within seven twice over the final eight and a half minutes but each time Walsh answered with a three-pointer to help the Green and White regain a double-digit lead.

First-year Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) converted an offensive rebound to make it 61-49 with 4:31 to play and Odam and Bauman both canned a pair of free throws as Babson matched its largest lead at 65-51 with 2:23 remaining. Despite forcing a pair of turnovers, the Pioneers were unable to get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

The Beavers shot 48.1 percent in the first half and 42.9 percent for the game in addition to finishing a perfect 20-of-20 at the free throw line. Marietta shot just 32.3 percent from the floor and committed all 16 of its turnovers over the first three quarters.

Babson will host Rhode Island College in Saturday's sectional final at 7:30 p.m. inside Staake Gymnasium.

GAME NOTES
• Friday's game was the first between Babson and Marietta.
• The Beavers are 16-1 at home this season and have recorded 12 wins by at least 10 points.
• Babson is 23-0 this winter when holding its opponents below 40 percent shooting and 21-0 when allowing fewer than 65 points.
• The Beavers, who rank 16th in Division III in free throw percentage, have now been perfect at the charity stripe when attempting 15 or more shots three times this season.
• Mollica is now just one three-pointer shy of the program's single-season record of 56 set by Joanna Maher '03 back in 2001-02.