Engineers Snap Beavers' 10-Game Winning Streak

BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Christina Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) scored 12 of her career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to help fourth-seeded MIT defeat top-seeded Babson College, 78-72, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

Babson, which saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end, slips to 18-8 on the year and now must wait until Monday to see if it receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Beavers are currently seventh in the NCAA regional rankings. MIT, which is in search of its third straight conference championship, improves to 15-11 overall.

Senior Jacqueline Jozefick (Milford, Conn.) finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Emily Bonifacic (Allendale, N.J.) contributed 12 points, nine boards and four steals for Babson. First-year Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) scored 12 points and dished out three assists, and senior Katherine Tamulionis (Foxboro, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points.

Antonakakis went 11-of-12 from the free throw line and added four rebounds and three steals to lead the Engineers. Junior Kylie Gallagher (Upton, Mass.) added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while senior Cindy Si (San Antonio, Texas) scored 10 points to go along with seven boards and four dimes.

Antonakakis and Si combined for 14 points to help MIT jump out to a 20-9 first-quarter advantage. The Green and White opened the second with a 7-0 spurt to get within three, and got eight points in the span of five possessions from Jozefick to cut the deficit to 34-31 with 3:42 to go in the stanza.

The Engineers scored the final four points of the first half and got a layup from junior Joceyln Luizzi (Colchester, Conn.) to extend its advantage back to 40-31 just 30 seconds into the third. The Beavers responded though, scoring 10 straight points to take their first lead on a jumper by Bauman as part of an 18-4 run that saw junior Shaye Galletta (Riverside, Conn.) convert in transition for a 49-44 lead with 4:11 left in the period.

Antonakakis buried a three-point on MIT's first possession of the fourth and Alexis Groark () followed with a bucket to put the visitors back in front 60-58 less than a minute into the stanza. The Green and White countered with six consecutive points to go back in front 64-60 on a hoop by Jozefick at the 6:58 mark, but the Engineers tied it on a layup by Gallagher and then went in front for good at 69-68 on a free throw by Antonakakis with 3:08 left.

Babson cut its 72-68 deficit in half on a hoop by Tamulionis with 50 seconds remaining, but turned it over down four on its next trip while watching Antonakakis put the game away with six late free throws.

MIT will travel to third-seeded Smith for the NEWMAC Tournament final on Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 55-13 all-time against MIT but have been ousted from the conference playoffs by the Engineers in each of the last two seasons.
• Friday's loss snapped Babson's 16-game winning streak when scoring at least 60 points.
• Prior to Friday, the Beavers had won their last 37 games when leading entering the fourth quarter.
• The top seed in the NEWMAC Tournament has claimed the conference title just once since 2014.