No. 13/15 Women's Basketball at Roger Williams
Saturday, November 11 | 1 p.m. 
Campus Rec. Center | Bristol, R.I.

WHAT TO KNOW
•    The Babson women's basketball team will open its 2023-24 season at Roger Williams on Saturday. 
•    For the first time since 1984, the Beavers will have a new leader on the sidelines as Kate Barnosky replaced Judy Blinstrub, who retired after 39 seasons at Babson over the summer. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 2-1 all-time against Roger Williams in a series that dates back to the 1981-82 season. 
•    Following 40-year hiatus, the Beavers and Hawks have split a pair of games over the last two seasons with both teams winning at home. 

LAST MEETING
•    Samantha Smith '23 led all players with 20 points and 13 rebounds to help the Beavers defeat Roger Williams, 61-53, on November 19, 2022, in Babson Park. 
•    Smith was 10-of-15 shooting and added three blocked shots and Megan Bauman '23 contributed 13 points, six assists and three steals for Babson, which finished with a 32-20 edge in paint scoring. 
•    Katie Galligan scored 14 points and Caroline Elie added 12 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hawks, who shot just 27.6 percent from the field in the loss. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    No. 13/15 Babson (0-0) brings back 15 players from a team that finished 26-6 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2022-23.
•    Senior Kelly Walsh averaged 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals in 31 starts last winter, while junior Katelyn Mollica (9.0 pts) made 55 three-pointers and shot 40.1 percent from beyond the arc in her first season with the Beavers. 
•    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. 
•    The Green and White ranked 15th in field goal percentage (44.0) and 17th in three-point field goal percentage (33.8) while limiting its foes to just 33.8 percent shooting overall. 

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
•    Roger Williams (0-0) returns its top two scorers and nine players in all from a team that finished 25-4 after winning a CCC title and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
•    Galligan averaged 14.0 points on 45.4 percent shooting to go along with 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while Elie shot 51.1 percent from the floor and contributed 13.3 points, 2.7 assists and team highs of 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals. 
•    Sophia Coppolla also contributed 6.9 points and 4.9 boards in 29 games off bench last winter. 
•    The Hawks, who have gone 50-7 over the last two seasons, were picked to finish atop the CCC for the third year in a row when the league's preseason coaches' poll was released this week. 

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 trips to Roger Williams, No. 5/6 Rhode Island College, reigning MASCAC champions Bridgewater State and a visit 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. 4/8 Tufts, No. 5/6 RIC, No. 3/11 Smith and No. 7/9 Trinity (Conn.). 

STARTING STRONG
•    The Beavers have won four straight and seven of their last eight season openers going back to 2014. 
•    Five of the victories have come by double digits and the lone loss came back in 2018 against Baldwin Wallace out in Rochester, N.Y. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    The Beavers were 23-1 last season when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting.
•    Going back to the 2020-21 campaign, Babson is 27-1 when forcing 18 or more turnovers. 
•    The Green and White went 18-1 last winter when winning the rebounding battle.
•    The Beavers were 24-3 last season when scoring at least 60 points and 26-2 when keeping opponents below 70 points.

UP NEXT
•    Babson travels to Bridgewater State on Tuesday, November 14.