SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Junior Jaimie Bickelhaupt posted a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds to pace Springfield College to a 46-41 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday evening. The Pride move to 14-10 and 10-9 in conference play, while the Lyons drop to 6-18 and 3-16 in the NEWMAC.
Locked in an 18-18 tie after halftime, the visting Pride broke the game open as sophomore Heather Lewis (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) made back-to-back layups and Bickelhaupt (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) dropped in a bucket of her own to make it a 24-18 Springfield lead with 18:11 to play.
A three-pointer from junior captain Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) cut the Lyons deficit by four (27-23) at the 16:06 mark. She later dropped in a pair of free throws to make it a 27-25 game.
Mount Holyoke continued to fight to keep it close, but a trey from first year Lexi Windwer (Milton, Mass./Thayer Academy) pushed the gap back to five (32-27) with 11:41 to play in the game and the Pride continued to roll. Four points from first year Daneille Racette (North Adams, Mass./Drury) and a jumper from Bickelhaupt opened the lead to 38-27 with just 8:15 to play.
The Lyons began to mount a comeback over the final six minutes as Karraker dropped in a three and junior Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) nailed a pair of shots from the free throw line to make it a 41-34 game.
A pair of Lewis free throws and a layup from sophomore Emily Gins (Fort Meyers, Fla./Oakwood Friends) opened it to a 45-34 game with 4:02 to play. Legare added two more free throws as well and a five-point stretch from sophomore Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School) closed it to a four-point game with 20 seconds on the clock, but it wasn't enough.
In addition to Bickelhaupt, who also had four steals and three blocks, the Pride saw Gins drop in eight points and 12 rebounds. Windwer also had a solid night, posting nine points and three steals.
For the Lyons, Karraker recorded a game-best 17 points with three assists, while Legare notched her 14th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional (Mass.) posted a game-best four blocks.
Prior to the game, the Lyons recognized their four seniors for their contributions to the basketball program. Among those honored included Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.), Kathleen O'Connor (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional), Jocelyn Portmann (Corinth, Maine/Corinth) and Katie Dupuis (Holyoke, Mass./Williston Northampton).
Mount Holyoke returns to the court on Saturday as it closes out the season at Wellesley at 2pm. Springfield wraps-up its regular season on Saturday as well, traveling to Coast Guard for a 1pm game.
Photo courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
