SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Jan. 26, 2013) – Despite a 38-25 scoring advantage in the second half, the Mount Holyoke College basketball team could not get past visiting Babson College, falling 70-52 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday. The #22 Beavers, led by game-high double-double efforts from senior forward Sarah Collins, improves to 17-2 overall and remain perfect in league play with a 12-0 mark. The Lyons slip to 4-13 and 2-10 in the NEWMAC.
Trailing by a 45-14 margin at halftime, Mount Holyoke came out fighting in the second half, using a solid shooting to begin to close the gap. Senior guard Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (N.H.) cut the deficit to 26 points (53-27), nailing a long three-pointer with 15:09 to play in the game. After a back-and-forth defensive battle, Pascual helped the effort once again with another shot from beyond the arc.
A jumper from junior Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) further cut the lead to 55-32, but Babson pushed its advantage back to 23 points on a layup by first year Briana Hunt (Newton, Mass./Newton North). Collins (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), who poured in a game-best 24 points and 16 rebounds, chipped in with four points over the next two minutes, but MHC continued to press as a trey from sophomore Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) made it a 59-37 game with 8:58 remaining.
Mount Holyoke continued to close the gap as a three-point shot from sophomore Allison Slysz (Hatfield, Mass./Smith Academy), followed by a pair of free throw makes by junior Jocelyn Portmann (Corinth, Maine/Corinth) brought the Lyons within 17 points (59-42) with 6:55 to play.
Collins continued to shine for the visiting Beavers, draining a pair of shots late from inside the paint to keep it a 19-point (63-44) game with just over four minutes on the clock. Pascual nailed her third three-pointer of the contest and Karraker added her game-best fourth trey of the game soon after, but the Beavers capitalized on buckets from Hunt and first year Linnett Graber (Roseland, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) to seal the win.
Babson took complete control to open the game, going on a 21-0 run to get things going. The Beavers were led in that span by Collins, who eventually led all scorers in the first half with 12 points. MHC got on the board at the 10:45 mark on a shot by sophomore Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional (Mass.), but the visitors continued to hold the momentum and headed into halftime with the 31 point lead.
In addition to Collins, who also posted a game-best three blocks, two steals and two assists, the Beavers saw first year Kristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) chip in with nine points. Classmate Alicia Wilde (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) added seven points and five rebounds.
For Mount Holyoke, Karraker recorded a team-best 14 points, including four three-pointers, and a steal. Pascual added 11 points with six rebounds while sophomore Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) added eight points and seven rebounds.
Mount Holyoke returns to the court on Wednesday, hosting Clark at 7pm. That contest is not only MHC's Game of the Week, but also the Lyons Play 4Kay Night at Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. Babson is also back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Wellesley for a 7pm tilt.
