BRISTOL, R.I.—Senior
Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) scored a game-high 21 points but No. 13 D3hoops.com/No. 15 WBCA Babson College suffered a 70-63 loss to Roger Williams University in its season opener on Saturday afternoon inside the Student Recreation Center.
Walsh added six rebounds and two assists, while sophomore
Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) recorded the second double-double of her career finishing with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Beavers. Junior
Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) added 11 points and senior
Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) contributed six boards and a game-high four assists off the bench in the loss.
Senior Katie Galligan (Pembroke, Mass.) and sophomore Sophia Coppola (Madison, Conn.) both scored 19 points and senior Caroline Elie (Rockland, Mass.) finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists to pace the Hawks.
Walsh, Mollica and senior
Rachel McMenemy (Northborough, Mass.) combined for all the scoring as the Green and White jumped out to a 13-7 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Roger Williams closed the opening period with a 9-2 run and got hoops from five different players as part of an 11-2 spurt to start the second to build a 32-19 advantage.
Late hoops by Perreault and Walsh helped cut the deficit to 42-33 at the half and the duo combined for five of the first seven points out of the locker room to pull the Beavers within 42-40 just over two minutes into the third quarter. The Hawks responded though, as Galligan scored nine points during a 16-6 run to take their largest lead of the game at 58-44 with 11 seconds to go in the stanza.
Walsh and first-year
Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, Mass.) both contributed four points as Babson answered back with an 11-0 spurt to close within 58-55 on a free throw by Perreault with 4:56 remaining in the contest. The Beavers answered a pair of buckets by Galligan with back-to-back hoops by Walsh and Reale to make it a one-possession game with 1:05 left, but Elie converted a three-point play on the Hawks' next trip to put the game out of reach.
Babson shot 39.2 percent from the floor and outscored Roger Williams 40-32 in the paint. The Hawks shot 61.5 percent in the first half and 42.6 percent for the game in addition to finishing with a 42-38 edge on the glass.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. as Babson travels to Bridgewater State, while Roger Williams hosts No. 4/9 Tufts.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 2-2 all-time against Roger Wiliams and the home team has won each meeting between the squads over the last three seasons.
• Saturday marked just the fourth time over the last 28 games that Babson has lost when scoring at least 60 points.
• Walsh has now scored in double figures in 11 straight games going back to February of last season.
• Saturday's contest was the first as head coach for
Kate Barnosky who replaced Judy Blinstrub after 39 seasons back in August.
