SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 4, 2012) – Led by junior Angelica Pascual, the Mount Holyoke College basketball team rolled to a 58-46 triumph over NEWMAC foe MIT this afternoon at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. The guard poured in 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor and drained three shots from beyond the arc. With the win, the Lyons snapped a five-game losing streak and avenged a 43-36 setback at MIT earlier this season.

Pascual was joined in double digits by classmate Jasmine Brown, who racked up a career-best 15 points. First year forward Amber Legare finished with eight points and 11 boards. Meanwhile, senior guard Christine Chancy added eight points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Mount Holyoke converted 43.5% (20-46) of its shots from the field and 70.6% (12-17) of its free throws. The Lyons knocked down six three-pointers and outrebounded the Engineers 40-29.

First year Mari Kordell led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor. MIT also received a boost from first year forward Michelle Battipaglia, who came off the bench to record 11 points, four rebounds and five steals. Junior guard Lauren Sascha Burton chipped in with nine boards. The Engineers were limited to 32.1% (18-56) shooting from the field.

Mount Holyoke jumped out to a 10-2 advantage and led 18-10 following a three-pointer by first year guard Kate Karraker midway through the first half. Refusing to go away, MIT answered with seven straight points to slice the deficit to 18-17.

 The Engineers trailed 21-20 after a conventional three-point play by Kordell at the 3:24 mark, but the Lyons reeled off the next six points and took a 27-22 edge into the locker room. Kordell led all scorers with 14 points at the break. Pascual had 10 for the hosts.

Mount Holyoke used an 11-2 surge over a span of five minutes in the early stages of the second half to pull away. A short jumper by Legare capped off the rally and put the Lyons in front 38-28 with 12:11 remaining in regulation. She scored six of her eight points during the run.

After MIT cut the lead to 43-38 on a Battipaglia jumper at the 7:10 mark, Mount Holyoke answered with a Pascual three-pointer at the other end and never looked back. The Lyons led by as many as 14 points down the stretch. They went 10-of-13 from the charity stripe over the final three minutes to ice things.

Brown highlighted the rally with an old-fashioned three point play. She scored seven of her 15 points in the final 1:39 for the hosts, who never trailed in the contest.

Both squads will resume their NEWMAC schedules on Wednesday. Mount Holyoke (4-16, 2-12 NEWMAC) will visit WPI at 7:00 p.m., while MIT (9-11, 5-9 NEWMAC) will host nationally-ranked Babson College at 8:00 p.m.