UMass Dartmouth Lafrance Hospitality Tournament
Saturday, November 16 | Babson vs. Union | 7 p.m.
Sunday, November 17 | Babson vs. UMass Dartmouth or Western New England | 12 or 2 p.m.
Tripp Athletic Center | Dartmouth, Mass.
THE SETUP
• Babson opens the 2019-20 season at the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament hosted by UMass Dartmouth. The Beavers will take on Union at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the opener, with the consolation and championship games set for a 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, on Sunday.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Union
• Babson is 1-0 all-time against Union after defeating the Dutchwomen 85-57 in the consolation game of the Babson Invitational Tournament back in 1992.
vs. UMass Dartmouth
• The Beavers are 3-4 all-time against the Corsairs in a series that dates back to the 1984-85 campaign.
• Babson used a 29-point fourth quarter to rally for an 85-77 win over UMass Dartmouth in the Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament last December.
Vs. Western New England
• Babson is 2-4 all-time against the Golden Bears although the teams have not met since Western New England defeated the Beavers, 77-73, in the 2007 Babson Invitational Tournament championship game.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson returns eight players after claiming its fourth consecutive NEWMAC regular season title and finishing with an overall record of 21-5 last season.
• The Beavers bring back a pair of starters and two of their top three scorers in seniors Emily Bonifacic and Katherine Tamulionis. Bonifacic (11.1 pts, 7.0 reb) shot 51.9 percent from the floor, while Tamulionis (10.3 pts, 2.2 ast) finished second on the team in assists.
• Fellow senior Jacqueline Jozefick averaged career highs of 5.6 points and 4.0 boards, while junior Nicole Hiller put up 4.2 points per game last season.
• The Green and White finished with more than 20 wins for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons last winter.
SCOUTING THE DUTCHWOMEN
• Union (1-0) opened the season with a 65-46 victory over Hartwick back on November 8.
• Sophomore Laura Vinton scored 17 points and senior Elly Vaughan added 10 points and 17 rebounds for the Dutchwomen, which jumped out to a 21-9 first-quarter lead.
• Union returns four of its top six scorers from last year's 16-9 team, led by sophomore Amber Raisner (8.1 pts, 2.0 ast) and Vaughan (6.5 pts, 6.0 reb).
• The Dutchwomen allowed just 51.9 points per game while holding opponents to 32.8 percent shooting last winter.
SCOUTING THE CORSAIRS
• UMass Dartmouth (2-0) is coming off a 61-49 win over Regis on Wednesday.
• Ashley Brown finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals for the Corsairs, who built a 16-point halftime lead.
• Sophomore Jordan Moretti scored 23 points in the team's season opener against MIT last weekend, Brown (19.5 pts, 10.0 reb, 9.0 ast) is shooting 55 percent over the first two games, and senior Kayla McMahon is contributing 11.0 points and 3.5 boards.
• UMass Dartmouth went 22-5 and reached the Little East Tournament final last year.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
• Western New England (1-1) suffered a 51-40 loss to Springfield on Tuesday.
• Senior Meghan Orbann knocked down four three-pointers and scored 19 points for the Golden Bears, who shot just 27.9 percent in the loss.
• Orbann (20.0 pts, 4.5 reb) is shooting 55 percent from the floor, senior Emily Farrell is averaging 10.0 points and 2.5 assists, and classmate Courtney Carlson is contributing 8.0 points and a team-high 6.5 boards.
• Western New England went 20-9 and reached the NCAA Tournament last year.
THE PICKS ARE IN
• Babson was picked to finish second when the NEWMAC released its annual coaches' poll earlier this month.
• The Beavers and Springfield, which came in first, both collected five first-place votes.
READY OR NOT
• The Green and White, which has seven first-year players on the roster, will open the season with seven consecutive games away from home.
• In addition to facing Union and a 20-game winner on Sunday, the Beavers will face a pair of nationally-ranked opponents next weekend at Amherst, and travel to Williams to take on the host Ephs and perennial power Rochester during the first weekend of December.
DEPENDING ON ITS DEFENSE
• Babson forced over 18 turnovers per game while holding its opponents to 39 percent shooting last season.
• The Green and White also held seven of its last 10 foes below 60 points.
NUMBER TO KNOW
• The Beavers went 10-2 away from home last season.
