SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- MIT led from wire to wire while defeating the Mount Holyoke basketball team 81-39 in a NEWMAC game on Saturday afternoon in spite of a solid effort from the host Lyons.
The Engineers (9-10, 5-0 NEWMAC) captured their fifth straight victory.
The Lyons (4-15, 0-5 NEWMAC) fell to 24-30 all-time against MIT with their 17th straight loss against the Engineers, but Mount Holyoke scored its most points against MIT since the 2014-15 season.
MIT scored the first seven points of the game, starting with a 3-pointer by Kaya Weiser and followed by layups by Kamsi Nwogu and Alice Hall. Nwogu and Sarah Berman sank consecutive 3-pointers to make it 15-4, as the Engineers coasted to a 25-9 lead after one period.
After the Engineers increased their lead to 31-9, Mount Holyoke junior Alex Twomey (Nutley, N.J.) drained a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws on consecutive possessions to close the gap to 31-14. MIT responded with a 6-0 run to open a 23-point lead before a three by Lyons sophomore Emma Zoubok (Somers, N.Y.), but the Engineers entered halftime with a 41-17 advantage.
A power move by sophomore forward Sofia Francisco (Boston, Mass.) opened the second-half scoring, but MIT answered definitively with a 14-1 run to make it 55-20 in the visitors' favor.
Mount Holyoke generated some traction with a 6-0 run late in the third period, and the Lyons and their fans enjoyed an explosive thrill when sophomore Jane Wu (Bangor, Maine) swished her first career 3-pointer to beat the buzzer, off a lead pass from sophomore Hannah Goen (New London, N.H.).
MIT continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, outscoring Mount Holyoke 17-8 behind seven points by Mariam Abdelbarr.
Nwogu scored a game-high 16 points and Rachael Zacks added 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for MIT. Alice Hall contributed eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Mount Holyoke tied for its season-best with 17 turnovers, while MIT committed only eight.
Francisco led Mount Holyoke with eight points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds. Goen contributed six points and a career-high six assists.
Mount Holyoke next plays at Springfield on Wednesday at 7pm.