SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Dec. 7, 2012) – Five players reached double-figures in the game, but the Massachusetts Institute of Technology basketball team benefited by efforts from three of them to defeat Mount Holyoke College, 65-52 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Friday. The Engineers move to 4-4 and 2-2 in the league, while the Lyons fall to 1-6 and 0-4 in the NEWMAC.
It was a close game right from the opening tip-off as Mount Holyoke opened the game's scoring on a layup by senior guard Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (N.H.). The Engineers countered, but the Lyons continued to press, going up by seven (14-7) on a free throw from first year guard Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School).
The advantage grew to nine seconds later as Pascual nailed a jumper, but MIT responded, getting the ball back off a block by junior Tamara Pena (Alisa Viejo, Calif./Aliso Niguel) for an easy jumper by sophomore forward Michelle Battipaglia (Katonah, N.Y./Somers) to make it a 16-14 game with 9:17 remaining.
MIT continued to chip away at the lead and later tied it at 21-all on a three-pointer from Lauren Sascha Burton (Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale) with 5:44 left on the clock. Sophomore forward Allison Slysz (Hatfield, Mass./Smith Academy) capitalized with a layup to make it 23-21 with 3:57 left, but MIT grabbed the advantage as Pena sank a shot from downtown to grab the one-point (26-25) lead.
A pair of free throws from sophomore forward Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) pushed the advantage back in MHC's favor, but a layup by first year guard Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head, S.C./Hilton Head Island) gave MIT back the lead. Sophomore guard Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) then nailed a jumper just before time expired to make it a 30-29 game at halftime.
In the second half, things remained close until MIT began to pull away Sascha Burton drained a layup and first year forward Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose) dropped in a pair from the charity stripe to make it a 41-35 lead for the visitors with 14:32 remaining.
A three-pointer from Pascual helped pull the Lyons back to within two (42-40), but back-to-back shots, including a trey from Pena, pushed it back to a five-point lead (47-42) for MIT. The Engineers continued to capitalize late in the game off the glass and grabbed a 10-point advantage with 1:37 left in the game on a jumper from Pena.
The Lyons tried to pull it close, but ran into foul trouble late as MIT came away with the victory.
The Engineers were led by a game-high 15 points from Sascha Burton, who added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Drammis chipped in with 14 points and game-best in rebounds (9), assists (3) and steals (4), while Pena had 14 points as well.
For Mount Holyoke, Legare recorded 14 points with seven rebounds and an assist, while Pascual had 11 points with a game-high three assists and four rebounds. Karraker added nine points and eight rebounds, while also posting three assists.
Mount Holyoke closes out the 2012 portion of its season on Tuesday when it faces Worcester State on the road at 6pm. MIT is back on the court on December 29, hosting Gordon College at 2pm.
Photos courtesy of Frank Poulin.
