Babson Park, MA --- Katleyn Mollica (Foxborough, MA) netted 13 of her game-high 16 points in the second half and Allessia Carlo (Carmel, NY) chipped in with a career-high 14 points to help Babson defeat visiting WPI 56-43 in NEWMAC women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.
 
The Beavers improve to 9-10 overall and 3-2 in conference action, while WPI slips to 9-10 on the season and 1-4 in NEWMAC play.
 
A defensive start to the game saw only two baskets scored in the first four minutes of the game, Babson only attempting two shots in that span. The two teams broke their lull in sync, going a combined 5-of-6 in the next minute and twenty seconds, as the Beavers took a 10-6 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers by Carlo and Chloe Perrault (Danbury, CT). Allison McMorrow (Quincy, MA) and Adrianna Niles (Tewksbury, MA) added a pair of layups for the Engineers in the offensive spurt. Neither team scored again in the last four minutes, with both teams shooting 0-of-5 to end the quarter.
 
The staunch defense continued into the second quarter, with both teams scoreless until an Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) layup two minutes in. Allyn then answered a Babson layup with a Jayson Tatum-esque sidestep 3-pointer from the left wing to make it a one-point game. With just under four minutes remaining in the first half, Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) hit from behind the arc to pull WPI to even. A late offensive eruption saw Carlo and Sofia Santorelli (Harrison, NY) each drop five points in the final two and a half minutes of the half, as Babson took a 25-21 lead to the locker room. 
 
Another Giansiracusa 3 gave the Engineers their first lead since it was 2-0, at 26-25, as the two teams went back and forth in the middle parts of the third quarter. A 13-0 Babson run put them up by 11, as Mollica poured in eight points, and the Beavers shot a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc. A Santorelli free throw in the waning seconds ended WPI's scoreless streak, but Babson took a 40-30 lead into the fourth. The Beavers maintained their lead through the fourth quarter, as WPI pulled within six a couple of times, but was unable to close the gap further, and Babson ended on top, 56-43. 
 
Mollica led the way for the Beavers, with 16 points, adding a block and a steal on the other end. Carlo had a career-best 14 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Chloe Perrault (Danbury, CT) had 10 points and seven rebounds for Babson, shooting 2-of-4 from deep. The Beavers shot 50% from behind the arc as a team, an 8-of-16 performance. Despite an even turnover margin of 16-15 in favor of Babson, the Beavers were able to convert 19 points off WPI miscues, while the Engineers were only able to score four points off Babson turnovers.
 
Santorelli and Giansiracusa had big games off the bench for WPI, with Santorelli finishing with 10 points and five boards, and Giansiracusa scoring eight points on 40% shooting from behind the arc. Niles had nine points, two rebounds, a block and a steal while playing 29 minutes for the Engineers. WPI outrebounded Babson 38-30, led by Alice Kelly's (Wethersfield, CT) 10 boards in 31 minutes.
 
WPI returns home on Wednesday to take on city rival Clark at 7pm inside Harrington Auditorium.  Babson is also home Wednesday at 7pm against a local foe, tangling with Wellesley.