BABSON PARK, Mass.— Junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) scored a game-high 17 points to lead a group of four players in double figures as No. 11/12 Babson College rolled past Springfield College, 75-55, in a non-conference women's basketball game Wednesday evening inside Staake Gymnasium.

Babson posted its fifth straight victory to improve to 12-1 on the year, while Springfield dropped its third straight contest to a nationally-ranked team and fell to 10-5 overall.

Walsh made 7-of-13 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and added seven rebounds, four assists and a team-high three steals for the Beavers. Sophomore Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) contributed 15 points, including three baskets from three-point range, while seniors Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) and Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points apiece in the win.

Bauman also dished out a team-high six assists and grabbed five rebounds, Smith blocked a season-high four shots, sophomore Camille Minor (Kingston, Mass.) finished with nine points and sophomore Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) collected a team-high eight rebounds off the Beaver bench.

Senior Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) led the visitors with 14 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Classmate Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) contributed 12 points, junior Jaélen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) added nine points, and sophomore Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with eight. Sophomore Lindsey Laughlan (Ellington, Conn.) also grabbed nine rebounds off the bench for the Pride.

Babson scored the first eight points of the game, including a pair of baskets by Mollica, before Vinton converted a layup to put the Pride on the board over six minutes into the contest. The Beavers tallied 11 straight points to end the first quarter and start the second to open up a 21-6 margin, as Silk and Bauman hit back-to-back shots to end of the first frame and a Minor three-pointer and jumpers by Mollica and Bauman made it a 15-point bulge (21-6).

The Pride pulled to within eight points (23-15) midway through the second quarter before a three-pointer by Walsh pushed the margin back up to double digits. Minor scored five points in the final two minutes of the half for the Green and White to put the hosts up 36-22 at the break.

The hosts opened the second half with 11 consecutive points to blow the game open as the lead ballooned to 47-22. Mollica drained a pair of threes to bookend the rally, which also included a Smith lay-up and a traditional three-point play by Walsh. A bucket by Bauman from long range pushed the margin to 27 with six minutes to go in the third.

The Pride came alive with nine straight points, including five points by Daubon and four from Czeremcha, to pull to within 18 points (50-32) late in the third before a layup by sophomore Abby Miller (Millis, Mass.) put Babson ahead 52-32 heading into the fourth.

The hosts pushed the lead to 24 on a Miller three-pointer early in the final stanza, and the Pride got no closer than 20 points the rest of the way.

Babson shot 46.9 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from 3-point range and converted all six of its free throw attempts. The Beavers held Springfield to a 33.3 percent clip, including 31.6 percent from long range.

The Beavers continue a five-game home stand on Monday, January 16 when they host Hamilton at 6 p.m. Springfield opens New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play Saturday at Wheaton at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has won 11 of its last 13 games against the Pride and now has a 34-13 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 1993.
• The Beavers are 10-0 on the year when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting and 11-0 when scoring at least 60 points.
• Walsh has scored in double figures in five straight games, averaging 14.8 points while shooting 50.9 percent from the field in that span.
• Smith's four blocked shots moved her into ninth place on the Babson career list with 81 rejections.