NORTHAMPTON, Mass.—Senior Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mich.) led all players with 28 points and 15 rebounds as No. 5 D3hoops.com/No. 5 WBCA Smith College overcame an early double-digit deficit to defeat No. 14/16 Babson College, 80-67, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Ainsworth Gymnasium.

Babson, which had its three-game winning streak snapped, drops to 19-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Smith has now won 16 consecutive games to improve to 22-1 overall and 8-0 in the NEWMAC.

Senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) played all 40 minutes and finished with 20 points and five assists to lead the Beavers. Classmate Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) added 11 points in the loss.

Morrison finished 9-of-16 from the floor and went 10-of-14 at the free throw line while scoring 17 points in the second half. Junior Amelia Clairmont (Laconia, N.H.) finished with 17 points, classmate Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif.) came off the bench to score 14 and fellow junior Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif.) contributed 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Pioneers.

The Green and White shot 52.9 percent and got 10 first-quarter points from Bauman on the way to building a 14-point advantage. Bauman and Walsh combined for 12 points during a 14-4 run that gave the visitors a 22-8 advantage with 1:54 to go in the opening stanza. Smith cut its deficit to single digits three times early in the second but hoops by Walsh, Bauman and sophomore Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) helped the Beavers match their largest lead of the game at 33-19 with 4:13 to go until halftime.

The Pioneers trailed 38-31 but scored on six of their first eight possessions out of halftime to pull within 44-43 on a Clairmont three-pointer at the 5:28 mark. Babson got a jumper from first-year Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) and a three-pointer from Walsh to stretch the margin back to 51-47 with 3:17 left in the period before Morrison scored five straight points and gave the hosts their first lead of the afternoon at 52-51 on a three-point play just over a minute later as part of a 10-0 run.

The Beavers got back within two on a bucket by Smith late in the third but Smith rattled off eight straight points to start the fourth, extending its lead to 65-55 on a layup by Ruffner with 6:00 to play. Babson trailed 70-59 with 3:01 left before making a late push to get within six with just over 90 seconds remaining thanks to a 7-2 run that included a three-pointer by sophomore Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) and back-to-back layups by Smith and Bauman.

The Pioneers went 8-of-10 at the free throw over the final 1:01 though to put the game away.

The Beavers shot 47.3 percent for the game while Smith shot 43.6 percent. The Pioneers outscored the Green and White 26-10 at the free throw line and finished with a 37-28 edge on the glass.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Babson hosts MIT at 7:30 p.m. while Smith hosts Emerson at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 40-15 all-time against Smith but have dropped three straight games in the series over the last two seasons.
• Prior to Saturday, Babson had been 15-1 on the year when leading at halftime.
• Bauman is up to 11th place on the program's career scoring list with 1,118 points after passing Linnett Graber '16 and Caitlin Boulier '08 on Saturday.
• The Beavers are now 1-2 this season against nationally-ranked opponents.