FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 15, 2017
SOUTH HADLEY, MASS. – Sophomore forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett and classmate Lauren Bondi both scored 18 points to lead Smith College to an 88-27 victory over the Mount Holyoke College basketball team on Wednesday night in New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on Wednesday night. The Pioneers now improve to 9-6 overall and 16-7 in the NEWMAC, while the Lyons fall to 2-21 overall and 0-15 in conference play.
In addition to Bondi's (Burnaby, B.C./Notre Dame Secondary) 18 points, she also posted five assists and five steals in 17 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Erin Hanley was the third player to score in double figures with 11 points for the Pioneers. The bench outscored MHC 32-3, led by sophomore guard Katy McClellan (Palmyta, Pa./Palmyra Area) and classmate Stephanie Foukaris (Nicosia, Cyprus/Pascal English School Nicosia) who had seven, respectively.
For the Lyons, sophomore guard Leah Hodges (New Haven, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) led the team with eight points, five boards, and two blocks. Hodges is averaging 10.6 points over the last five games. Junior guard Genesis DiCarlo (Sullivan, Maine/Sumner Memorial) also had a solid game, scoring six points and seven rebounds, including three offensive.
In the first quarter, Smith forced a fast paced game and got out to a 16-0 run powered by Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) who had eight points during the stretch. Senior forward Xajaah Williams-Flores (The Bronx, N.Y./Holderness School) broke the run with a jumper with 3:11 on the clock to make it 16-2. The Pioneer's ended the quarter on a 12-2 run to head into the second up, 28-4.
Sophomore forward Emma Seymour (Seattle, Wash./Rooselvelt) opened up scoring in the frame with a layup to continue the run, but DiCarlo sank two free throws to make it 30-6. Smith picked the pressure back up and score 14 unanswered buckets, but senior forward Julia McConnell (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) knocked down a deep three, followed by a jumper from Hodges to close the half on a 4-0 run (43-13).
The pioneers opened up the second half of action on a 16-2 run capped off by two consecutive treys from sophomore guard Erin Hanley (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep.) to make it 59-15. After a Hodges jumper with 4:20 left in the stanza, the Pioneers countered with 11 points to push its lead to 71-21 heading into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth, junior guard Tavorsia Talley (New Hope, Pa./Solebury School) and McClellan each score four points to help Smith outscore the Lyons 17-6 to end the game. Williams-Flores also scored four points in the quarter, but Smith was able to secure the victory.
Both teams will play in their final regular season finales on Saturday as Mount Holyoke hosts Coast Guard Academy (1:00pm), while Smith is at Emerson (4:00pm).
