Beavers Use 26-2 Run to Pull Away from Camels and Improve to 7-0

BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) scored a game-high 19 points and senior Nicole Hiller (Rocky Hill, Conn.) finished with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to help Babson College defeat visiting Connecticut College, 77-46, in women's college basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson improves to 7-0, while Connecticut College opens the year at 0-1.

Walsh added three assists and two steals and Hiller led all players with three blocked shots for the Beavers. Sophomore Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and classmate Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points and seven assists in the win.

Sophomore Jaycie Rojik (Scituate, Mass.) scored nine points and junior Audrey Shaev (Scarsdale, N.Y.) added eight points and two assists to lead the Camels. Senior Casey Walsh (Phoenixville, Pa.) pulled down a team-high eight boards in the loss.

With the game deadlocked at 23 four minutes into the second quarter, Babson blew things open with a 26-2 run that spanned over nine minutes. The Beavers rattled off 14 straight points, which included a pair of buckets by Hiller and a three-point play by first-year Rachel McMenemy (Southborough, Mass.), to push its lead to 37-23 on a triple by Walsh with 53 seconds left before halftime.

Smith scored the final bucket of the second quarter and opened the third quarter with another layup to make it 41-25. Walsh canned a pair of free throws and followed up a hoop by Bauman with another three-pointer, while Hiller went 1-of-2 at the free throw line on the ensuing possession to stretch the margin to 49-25 with 6:45 to go in the period.

Connecticut College answered with an 8-0 run to cut its deficit to 49-33 on a triple by first-year Aislinn McMahon (Andover, Mass.) at the 5:11 mark, but sophomore Christina Costa (Weston, Mass.), Walsh and Bauman responded with three-pointers and sophomore Jade Perry (Auburn, Maine) drained a short jumper to stretch Babson's lead back to 60-33 late in the frame.

The Beavers, who led by as many as 34 late in the fourth, shot 44.9 percent from the floor and outscored the Camels 38-18 in the paint. Babson also held a 46-38 edge on the glass.

Connecticut College shot just 28.1 percent and finished just 5-of-27 (18.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

The teams will wrap up their two-game series with a 1 p.m. tipoff inside Staake Gymnasium.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 11-2 all-time against Connecticut College and have won three straight in the series.
• Hiller has now scored in double figures in five consecutive games and is averaging 12.0 points on 48 percent shooting during this stretch.
• Babson has held each of its first even opponents below 33 percent shooting.