BOX
SCORE
HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Babson College women's basketball team
recorded its biggest win of the season on Tuesday night, as the
visiting Beavers knocked off previously undefeated Trinity College,
54-45, in a non-conference road contest. With the win, Babson
improved to 8-5 overall, while the Bantams dropped their first
contest of the year to fall to 11-1.
First-years Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.)
and Nicole Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.) were once
again magnificent for the Beavers, combining for 27 points and 17
rebounds in the victory. King notched her fifth double-double
of the season with 15 points and 12 boards, while Wurdeman netted a
team-high 15 points to go with six rebounds, three steals, and
three blocked shots. Sophomore Kristy Benoit (Shrewsbury,
Mass.) came off the bench to finish with seven points, six
rebounds, three assists, and five steals, and classmate
Becky Bowman (Melrose, Mass.) added seven points
and six rebounds.
Clair Arnstein matched Wurdeman with a game-high 15 points for
Trinity, while Kaitlin Ciarleglio added 14 points and four steals.
Christine Card chipped in with seve boards, three blocks, and two
steals, and Michelle Royals tallied nine points and five rebounds.
Babson led for all but three minutes of the contest, jumping out
to an early 10-2 lead that was capped by a conventional three-point
play by Wurdeman. Trinity responded with nine straight points to
take its only lead of the contest, 11-10, with 13:10 left in the
first half, but Benoit hit a lay-up 23 seconds later to put the
Beavers back in front.
Later in the period, Brianne Cowden hit a free throw to even the
score at 18-18 with 7:26 remaining, but Babson rattled off eight
straight points over the next five minutes to build a 26-18
advantage. The Bantams then scored the final five points of the
session to cut the Beavers' advantage to 26-23 heading into the
break.
Babson once again extended its lead early in the second half, as
Wurdeman, sophomore Amanda Grammel (Leominster,
Mass.), and King all hit buckets in the first 1:08 to push
the visitors' advantage to nine, 32-23. Trinity followed with a 6-2
spurt to get back to within five with 15:43 left to play, but the
Beavers erupted for eight straight points, including a
three-pointer by Wurdeman, to take their largest lead of the game,
42-29, with 10:12 on the clock.
Refusing to go quietly, Trinity used an 8-0 run of its own later
in the period to cut its deficit to just four, 45-41, with 3:11
left in regulation. However, Wurdeman drained her second
three-pointer of the game to push Babson's cushion to seven, and
the Beavers hit six of eight free throws in the final minute to
claim the 54-45 victory.
