Basketball Survives Smith, 61-48
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (February 15, 2007) - Senior guard Angela Astuccio (Foxboro, Mass.) and first year forward Jessica Olson (Gilbert, Ariz.) scored 14 points a piece in tonight's New England's Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest. The Lyons' 61-48 victory improves their overall record to 17-7 (9-3) while Smith drops to 2-21 (1-11 NEWMAC).
The Smith College Pioneers kicked-off the game with a 13-2 run over the first four and a half minutes, forcing Mount Holyoke to turn the ball over in four of its first seven possessions. MHC rallied to knot the game at 13 apiece at the 9:48 mark. Two more ties would ensue during the first frame, including a 20-20 stalemate with 3:09 to go. Smith College created a little breathing room before the half, engineering a 6-3 run in the final minutes of the stanza, going ahead, 26-23.
MHC regained its offensive steam in the second half, quickly knotting the game at 28 only two minutes into the final frame. The teams traded baskets until a three-pointer from the corner by Jessica Olson began a 16-4 run, giving MHC a 12-point margin, 46-34, at the 9:06 mark. Six different MHC players contributed points to the run, capped-off by a pair of free throws from sophomore point guard Katie Austen (Mount Sinai, N.Y.). MHC earned its largest lead of the game (14) with 39 seconds remaining when first year Erin Cain (Quincy, Mass.) drained a jumper, bringing the score to 58-44.
Olson registered a double-double in tonight's contest, picking up 11 rebounds to go with her 14 points. Astuccio dished-out a team-high four assists and earned seven of her 14 points from the charity stripe, draining all but one attempt. Joeanna Silvey (Boston, Mass.) also recorded a double-digit scoring performance, netting 10 points. As a team, the Lyons shot 37.8% from the floor and hit 24-of-30 attempts from the free throw line.
First year guard Berit Shelde (Holstlebro, Denmark) led all scorers with 18 points on a six-of-14 shooting performance. Senior Helena Charron (Portland, Maine) recorded a team-high nine rebounds while chipping in 11 points in the team's loss. The Pioneers shot 38.3% from field-goal range and hit 33.3% from behind the arc.
Mount Holyoke hosts its last regular season game on Saturday against the Clark University Cougars at 2:00 p.m. Smith College plays host to the MIT Engineers the same day at 3:00 p.m.