SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Powered by points from nearly every player, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) basketball team defeated Mount Holyoke College (MHC), 75-30 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Engineers improve to 4-1 in conference play and are now 8-4 overall. The host Lyons slip to 0-13 with an 0-5 mark in the NEWMAC.
MIT, which shot 54.3% (34-63) from the floor in the game, was paced by senior forward Maya Ramachandran's (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose) 15-point effort. A perfect 7-of-7 from the field, she added five rebounds and three assists. First year guard Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich./Marian) posted 10 points, adding two assists and a steal, while classmate and fellow guard Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash./Blaine) had nine points and six boards. Senior guard Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head, S.C./Hilton Head Island) posted a game-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points.
For Mount Holyoke, senior guard Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School) led the way with 13 points, adding three boards, three assists, a block and two steals. Junior forward Xajaah Williams-Flores (The Bronx, N.Y./Holderness School) added six points with two rebounds, while first year guard Leah Hodges (New Haven, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) and sophomore Peyton Burr (Fayston, Vt./Harwood Union) each had four points.
The visiting Engineers got off to a fast start in the opening quarter, leading by 13-points (18-5) following a Drammis layup. A jumper from junior guard Liana Ilutzi (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park), who had a game-best five assists, put MIT ahead by a 24-5 advantage with 3:03 left. The Lyons battled back late as a pair of jumpers by Burr cut the margin to 28-11 at the end of the frame.
In the second quarter, a layup from V'Dovec pushed MIT to its largest lead of the contest to that point, owning a 34-11 advantage. A pair of free throw makes from Green clipped the lead back to 20-point (34-14) with 4:19 to go, but MIT would get back-to-back layups from Holinski and V'Dovec to make it a 24-point game with 2:36 to go. Hodges nailed a jumper at the 1:24 mark, but the visitors held strong for a 40-17 halftime lead.
Out of the break, the Engineers picked up the momentum and ran, pulling out to a 52-17 advantage at 4:29 following a jumper from Ilutzi. Green helped close the gap with a pair of makes at the free throw line, but a three from Holinski continued to add in MIT's favor as the visitors headed into the final stanza with a 59-21 lead.
A jumper from Maude Gull (Zurich, Switzerland/Notre Dame (Calif.) pushed the MIT lead to 42 (63-21) early in the fourth, but a three-pointer with 3:30 to go from Green, help cut into the Engineers lead for a 67-30 score. MIT quickly answered and closed out the contest on an 8-0 run, including four-points from junior forward Madeleine Duran (Glen Rock, N.J./Bergen County Academies).
Both teams return to NEWMAC play on Tuesday at 7pm as Mount Holyoke hosts Wheaton, while MIT welcomes Clark.