WORCESTER, Mass.—Junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) scored a career-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures as No. 15 WBCA/No. 17 D3hoops.com Babson College defeated WPI, 86-60, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Harrington Auditorium.

With the win, Babson closes the regular season at 21-4 overall and 8-2 in league play and will be the second seed in next week's NEWMAC Tournament. WPI dips to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in league play and is seeded fourth in the upcoming conference tournament.

Odam finished 7-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-4 from three-point range to go along with six rebounds and two assists for the Beavers. Senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) made her first eight shots and finished with 19 points and seven assists, classmate Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) scored 17 points and junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) contributed 16 points and team highs of seven boards and three steals in the win.

Graduate student Lisa Cristiano (Valhalla, N.Y.) and junior Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, Conn.) both had 11 points and graduate student McKenna Finken (Simsbury, Conn.) added 10 points to pace a balanced Engineers' attack. Classmate Alex Scariati (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led all players with eight assists in the loss.

The Green and White scored the first 11 points of the contest and hit 13-of-17 shots in the opening quarter to build a 32-10 lead. Bauman scored 11 points in the stanza, Smith and junior Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) had six points apiece and Walsh and Odam combined for nine as the Beavers went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the frame.

First-year Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) stretched the margin to 38-14 at the 6:21 mark of the second before WPI went on a 20-9 run to close the half. Scariati scored seven consecutive points and Kelly and senior Emily Raynowska (Brentwood, N.H.) combined for nine of the team's final 11 points as the hosts pulled within 47-34 at the break.

The Engineers got as close as 11 twice early in the third quarter before Babson scored on five consecutive possessions to push its lead back to 57-41 on a jumper by Odam with 6:13 to go in the period. Walsh and Odam scored eight consecutive points for the visitors and Bauman followed up a jumper with a pair of free throws to make it 69-50 going to the fourth.

Odam and Smith scored the first nine points of the quarter for the Green and White and Walsh drilled her second triple of the afternoon as it extended the margin to 81-55 with less than four minutes to play.

The Beavers shot a season-best 60 percent from the floor and finished 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from behind the arc while outrebounding WPI 29-21. The Engineers shot 51 percent for the game but allowed 21 points off of turnovers and 12 second-chance points.

Both teams will host NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal games on Wednesday as Babson takes on seventh-seeded Wheaton while WPI takes on fifth-seeded Springfield.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 38-25 all-time against WPI and have won five straight in the series.
• Babson is now 15-1 this season when outrebounding its opponents.
• The Beavers have won 31 consecutive games when shooting 50 percent or better and are 18-2 since the start of last year when making at least six three-pointers.
• The Green and White is now 16-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or less.