WILLIMANTIC, Conn.—Senior Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) and sophomore Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) both scored 14 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 21/25 Babson College defeated Eastern Connecticut State University, 77-69, in non-conference women's basketball on Saturday evening inside Geissler Gymnasium.

Babson opens the season at 1-0 for the eighth time in the last nine seasons, while Eastern Connecticut State starts 0-1 for the second year in a row.

Sophomore Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) finished with 12 points and a game-high six assists and junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) added 11 points, three assists and two steals for the Beavers. Smith led all players with three blocked shots and junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the win.

Senior Julie Keckler (Trumbull, Conn.) scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, while classmate Mariah Dunn (Meriden, Conn.) contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes for the Warriors. Fellow senior Anna Berry (Andover, Conn.) came off the bench to scored 12 points and block two shots in the loss.

The Green and White shot 71.4 percent (10-of-14) in the first quarter and got seven points from Walsh, six from Smith and five from Bauman to help build a 25-13 lead on a layup by Silk with 23 seconds to go in the period. Mollica scored five straight points to expand the margin to 30-16 just over two minutes into the second before Dunn capped a 7-2 run with a three-point play to bring Eastern Connecticut State back within nine with 5:46 to go before halftime.

Bauman answered five straight points, sophomore Kiara Simone Davis (Coral Springs, Fla.) knocked down a triple and Silk scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Beavers their largest lead of the game at 44-23 with 34 seconds to go in the second quarter.

Keckler scored 10 third-quarter points, which included a buzzer-beating three-pointer to cut the Warriors' deficit to 56-44, and Dunn converted a three-point play to trim the Babson lead to 60-52 with 7:42 to go in the game. The Green and White responded by scoring on its next four possessions to push the margin back to 69-52 on a jumper by Mollica with 5:37 to play.

Eastern Connecticut State made one final push to get as close as seven on a three-pointer by senior Jenna Serrantino (Cromwell, Conn.) with 2:35 left, but Davis knocked down the first of two free throws and grabbed her own miss on the second that led to a layup by Walsh as Babson regained a double-digit cushion with just over two minutes remaining.

The Beavers shot 64.2 percent in the first half and 57.1 percent for the game, and outscored Eastern Connecticut State 46-28 in the paint. The Warriors shot 42.4 percent and turned 13 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as Babson travels to Rhode Island College, while Eastern Connecticut State takes on Trinity.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 2-3 all-time against Eastern Connecticut State and have won back-to-back meetings between the teams.
• Babson has now won 27 straight games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
• The Beavers are 45-3 going back to the 2018-19 campaign when scoring 70 or more points.
• The Green and White finished with five players in double figures for the first time since a 90-24 win over New England College on February 20, 2021, in Saturday's victory.