No. 9/9 Women's Basketball at the Cruzin' Classic
vs. Loras | Tuesday, December 20 | 11:30 a.m.
vs. Hanover | Wednesday, December 21 | 12 p.m.
Fernandez Family Center | Miami Gardens, Fla.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Following a break for final exams, Babson travels to south Florida to take part in the Trip Sports Cruzin' Classic hosted by St. Thomas University.
• The Beavers face Loras (Iowa) in their opening game of the event on Tuesday morning and will take on Hanover (Ind.) on Wednesday.

SERIES HISTORY
vs. Loras: First meeting
vs. Hanover: First meeting

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 9/9 Babson (7-0) has been off since defeating Framingham State, 71-63, back on December 6.
• Sophomore Katelyn Mollica scored 14 points and senior Samantha Smith and Kelly Walsh added 13 points apiece for the Beavers, who forced 17 turnovers and led by double figures for much of the second half.
• Smith (13.7 pts, 9.1 reb, 2.0 blocks) is shooting 50 percent from the floor, senior Megan Bauman (12.9 pts, 5.0 ast, 3.1 reb) ranks 26th in Division III in assists, Walsh is averaging 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists, and Mollica (10.1 pts) is shooting 48.5 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Green and White has committed the fifth fewest turnovers per game in Division III (12.1) and is holding its opponents to just 32.3 percent shooting on the year.

SCOUTING THE DUHAWKS
• Loras (6-2) bounced back from its first loss in nearly a month by knocking off then-ninth-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire 88-79 on December 10.
• Madison Flreckenstein scored 21 points and Sami Martin finished with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting to lead five players in double figures for the Duhawks, who shot 49.2 percent from the floor and knocked down 15-of-18 fourth-quarter free throws.
• Martin (15.4 pts, 7.8 reb, 2.1 stl) is shooting 59.6 percent from the floor, Fleckenstein (11.9 pts, 4.8 reb, 2.1 ast) is shooting 54.1 percent, and Cirerra Bachmann is averaging 8.9 points and a team-high 3.1 assists.
• Loras, which was picked second in the America Rivers Conference preseason poll, ranks 33rd in Division III in field goal percentage (42.7) and is forcing over 21 turnovers per game.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• Hanover (6-2) has won its last four games and is coming off a 68-54 victory against Defiance back on December 10.
• Reese Sexton scored 12 points, Callie Wilder added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Taylor Heath chipped in with 10 points for the Panthers, who turned 19 Yellow Jackets' turnovers into 20 points.
• Grace Bezold (16.8 pts, 8.7 reb, 1.3 blocks) has recorded a pair of double-doubles, Katherine Benter (9.8 pts, 7.3 reb) is shooting 36.1 percent from three-point range, and Heath is averaging 9.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals.
• Hanover, which came in second in the HCAC preseason coaches' poll, is committing just 13.8 turnovers per game while holding it opponents to 34.3 percent shooting.

BLINSTRUB COLLECTS 700TH WIN
• Babson's Judy Blinstrub became just the 11th coach in Division III history to reach the 700-win milestone in the team's 71-63 victory over Framingham State back on December 6.
• She ranks fourth among active Division III coaches in wins behind only Andy Yosinoff of Emmanuel (883), Michael Durbin of Saint Benedict (722) and Michael Miller of Messiah (719).

MILESTONE WINS
100 Feb. 16, 1991 vs. WPI (65-53)
200 Dec. 9, 1996 vs. Bridgewater State (68-50)
300 Jan. 19, 2002 vs. Clark (80-42)
400 Dec. 4, 2008 vs. Bridgewater State (64-49)
500 Mar. 2, 2012 vs. Bridgewater State (68-59)
600 Feb. 8, 2016 vs. Emerson (72-51)
700 Dec. 6, 2022 vs. Framingham State (71-63)

CLIMBING IN THE POLLS
• After beginning the season ranked 21st by the WBCA and 25th in the D3hoops.com poll, the Green and White jumped to ninth in both rankings last week.
• One of 16 undefeated teams in Division III, the Beavers returned to the top 10 for the first time since November 2011.
• The NEWMAC with No. 10/10 Smith and No. 11/13 Springfield is currently the only league in the country with three programs ranked among the top 15.

HOMECOMING FOR DAVIS
• Sophomore Kiara Simone Davis, a native of Coral Springs, Fla., will play in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career when the Beavers face Loras and Hanover this week.
• The Westminster Academy product has appeared in all seven games this winter and is averaging 4.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.4 minutes.

RETURN TO THE SUNSHINE STATE
• The Beavers will play at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens for the second time and in the state of Florida for the fourth time over the last decade this week.
• Babson defeated Cal Lutheran and Plattsburgh State in the Miami Exclusive Invitational in 2018 and is 4-2 in Florida since 2015.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS
• Bauman, who has dished out six or more assists in five of the Beavers' first seven contests, is now sixth on the program's all-time list with 310 career assists.
• Smith blocked three shots in the win over Framingham State and her 69 career blocks are tied for 12th on Babson's all-time list.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 5-0 this season with four double-digit victories away from home.
• Babson is 6-0 this year and has won 59 of its last 61 games when leading at halftime going back to the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
• The Green and White is 37-4 since 2020-21 when holding its opponents below 70 points.
• The Beavers have pulled down at least 10 offensive rebounds in nine straight outings going back to last March.

UP NEXT
• Babson will take on Middlebury on December 30 and Endicott on December 31 in the Judy Person '85 Memorial Tournament at Staake Gymnasium.