No. 13/15 Women's Basketball at Bridgewater State
Tuesday, November 14 | 7 p.m. 
Tinsley Center | Bridgewater, Mass. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 18-4 all-time against Bridgewater State in a series that dates back to 1988.
•    The Beavers have won their last three games against the Bears although last year's matchup was the first between the teams the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. 
•    The Green and White and Bridgewater State met in 16 consecutive seasons from 1993-2008. 

LAST MEETING
•    Junior Katelyn Mollica knocked down five three-pointers and led three players in double figures with 17 points as Babson defeated Bridgewater State, 78-56, on December 2, 2022, in Williamstown, Mass.
•    Samantha Smith '23 finished with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and sophomore Allessia Carlo came off the bench to score a season-high 11 points for the Beavers, who shot 48.5 percent and scored 27 second-chance points in the win. 
•    Sydney Bradbury finished with 18 points and Kylie Grassi added 11 points for the Bears, who shot just 35.5 percent. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    No. 13 D3hoops.com/No. 15 WBCA Babson (0-1) suffered a 70-63 loss at Roger Williams in its season opener on Saturday. 
•    Senior Kelly Walsh scored a game-high 21 points and sophomore Chloe Perreault recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Beavers, who outscored the Hawks 40-28 in the paint. 
•    The Green and White brings back 15 players from a team that finished 26-6 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2022-23 led by Walsh, who averaged 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals on the way to earning all-conference honors. 
•    Senior Madison Odam (6.0 pts, 4.9 reb) scored in double figures six times, junior Camilla Silk (4.1 pts, 4.1 reb) shot 50 percent from the floor and senior Rachel McMenemy contribute 3.0 points and 4.5 boards to lead the frontcourt. 

SCOUTING THE BEARS
•    Bridgewater State (0-0) returns eight players, including five of its top six scorers, from a team that that finished 21-7 and reached the NCAA Tournament after capturing the MASCAC regular season and tournament titles. 
•    Grassi, the reigning MASCAC Player of the Year, averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 steals, while Bradbury (11.5 pts, 3.5 reb) shot 32.1 percent from three-point range. 
•    Sophia Gaucher (9.0 pts, 6.7 reb) shot 49.4 percent and led the team in rebounding, Arielle Cleveland contributed 8.7 points and 6.3 boards, and Caroline Tripp averaged 8.3 points and a team-high 4.3 assists. 
•    The Bears, who averaged 75.4 points and forced 22 turnovers per game, were picked to repeat in the MASCAC preseason coaches' poll. 

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET
•    In addition to scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds in her first career start, Perreault added three blocked shots, three steals and two assists against Roger Williams on Saturday. 
•    Mollica scored 11 points, grabbed three rebounds and finished with three steals in a team-high 35 minutes in the season opener.

BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA
•    Kate Barnosky was selected as the eighth head coach in program history back in August following the retirement of Judy Blinstrub, who amassed 719 wins in 39 seasons at Babson. 
•    Barnosky arrives at Babson following a two-year stint as the associate head coach at Wisconsin and three years as an assistant coach at Boston University. 
•    A three-time captain as a player at Tufts, Barnosky also spent five seasons as an assistant coach for the Jumbos helping them reach the Division III Final Four on four occasions, which includes two appearances in the national championship game. 

POLL POSITION
•    After finishing in the top 10 of both national polls last season, the Beavers open the 2023-24 campaign ranked 13th by D3hoops.com and 15th by the WBCA. 
•    Babson also was picked to finish third in the NEWMAC when the preseason coaches' poll was announced back in October. 

CHALLENGES AHEAD
•    The Beavers open the season by playing seven of their first nine games away from home, a stretch that includes a home date with No. 5/6 Rhode Island College and visits to Roger Williams, reigning MASCAC champions Bridgewater State and a trip to Williamstown, Mass., for the third straight year to take on Williams and Middlebury in early December. 
•    Overall, the Green and White will play six games against teams that reached last year's NCAA Tournament, four of which begin the year ranked among the top 10 in the national polls – No. 4/9 Tufts, No. 5/7 RIC, No. 11/4 Smith and No. 7/11 Trinity (Conn.). 

NUMBER TO KNOW
•    The Beavers are 10-5 in road and neutral court games since the start of last season. 
•    Babson is 28-1 since the start of the 2020-21 campaign when forcing at least 18 turnovers. 
•    The Green and White is 21-1 going back to the start of 2021-22 when scoring at least 70 points. 
•    The Beavers were 23-1 last year when holding their opponents below 40 percent shooting. 

UP NEXT
•    Babson will face Thomas in the opening round of the Colby Tip-Off in Waterville, Maine, on Saturday at 3 p.m.