CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – January 20, 2007 -- A 13-5 run by the Springfield College women's basketball team during the final six minutes thwarted a late rally by MIT as the Pride went on to pick up a 65-45 win in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game on Saturday afternoon. Pride (7-9, 3-3 NEWMAC) sophomore forward Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Sharon Prange paced the Engineers (3-12, 0-5 NEWMAC) with 18 points and seven rebounds.
A jumper by Kimberly Soo Hoo put MIT on the board in the opening possession of the game. Freshman guard Amanda DiPaolo (Garrison, N.Y.) notched Springfield’s first points with a trey 2:24 later. The Engineers regained the lead on a basket by Clara Yuan but junior guard Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) answered with a lay-up during the Pride’s next possession. Springfield went on to build a seven-point advantage (13-6) at the 11:55 mark. MIT slowly chipped away at the deficit, eventually taking a 20-17 lead with five minutes remaining in the half. But back-to-back lay-ups returned the lead to Springfield for good as it entered the intermission with a 28-22 advantage.
Both squads traded baskets to start the second stanza, as MIT trailed, 31-27, with 18:24 left. After two minutes of scoreless play, three consecutive baskets by Finch resulted in the Pride’s first double-digit lead of the day at the 15:03 mark. Springfield’s lead never fell below double-digits as it went on to record its second consecutive NEWMAC victory. Finch also added four rebounds.
McCarthy finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while sophomore center Lauren O’Connor (Valhalla, N.Y.) grabbed a game-high 13 boards. Sophomore guard Liz Jordan (Sandwich, Mass.), who made her first career start, contributed seven points, nine caroms and four steals to the Pride’s cause in what was her best career performance. As a team, SC outrebounded MIT, 44-22. SC forced 22 MIT turnovers, while committing 19 on its own.
Both teams will continue conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 24. MIT will travel to Wellesley College while Springfield will host Smith College at 7:00 pm.
Entering her 22nd season as head coach in 2012-13, Naomi Graves has directed her squads to an impressive 306-156 record (.662 winning percentage) since joining the Division III ranks in 1995. Graves has led the Pride to 12 post-season bids in the past 17 years, including five berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
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