No. 11/12 Women's Basketball vs. MIT
NEWMAC Tournament Semifinal
Friday, February 24 | 6 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 57-13 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 campaign.
• The Beavers have won seven of their last nine games against the Engineers, which includes six victories by six points or less.
• The Green and White has split its last eight games with MIT inside Staake Gymnasium over the last decade.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
• Babson is 5-2 all-time against MIT in NEWMAC Tournament play although both losses have come on its home court in the semifinals.
• The Engineers knocked off the Beavers in the semifinal round in both 2019 and 2020.
• Four of Babson's five postseason victories over MIT came during the NEW 8 era from 1992-95.

LAST MEETING
• Senior Samantha Smith scored 21 points, junior Kelly Walsh finished with 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and senior Megan Bauman contributed 17 points, 10 assists and nine boards to help the Beavers defeat 91-43 on February 15 in Babson Park.
• Junior Katelyn Mollica added 12 points for Babson, which shot 51 percent and took control of the game by outscoring the visitors 26-11 in the second quarter.
• First-year Alice Hall scored 15 points, graduate student Paula Pieper contributed nine of her 13 points in the fourth period and sophomore Angie Choi chipped In with 11 points for the Engineers.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 11 WBCA/No. 12 D3hoops.com Babson (22-4) has won three straight games after rolling to a 79-41 victory over seventh-seeded Wheaton on Wednesday night.
• Walsh scored 14 points to go along with four steals, Smith had 13 points, Mollica finished with 12 points and four assists and Bauman chipped in with 11 points for the Beavers, who shot 55 percent and led 31-4 four minutes into the second quarter.
• Bauman (14.2 pts, 5.7 ast, 3.8 reb) has scored in double figures in five straight games and ranks eighth in Division III in assists, Smith (14.4 pts, 7.5 reb, 2.2 blocks) leads the league in blocks and is shooting 62 percent over the last four contests, and Walsh (10.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.2 steals) is averaging 17.0 points over her last four outings.
• The second-seeded Green and White ranks first against NEWMAC opponents in scoring offense (79.1 points), field goal percentage (46.9) and points per possession (1.10).

SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
• Third-seeded MIT (17-9) has won 11 of its last 12 games after defeating sixth-seeded Coast Guard, 77-66, in a quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
• Sophomore Kamsi Nwogu led four players in double figures with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Pieper scored 16 points and sophomore Sarah Berman knocked down four three-pointers on the way to scoring 14 points for the Engineers, who outscored the Bears 25-15 in the fourth quarter.
• Nwogu (14.8 pts, 8.3 reb) is shooting 56.4 percent from the floor, Choi (12.0 pts, 3.0 reb) leads the team with 47 steals and Pieper (11.4 pts, 4.3 reb, 4.3 ast) has scored in double figures in four straight outings.
• MIT ranks third in league play in defensive efficiency allowing just 0.75 points per possession and is second with a +9.2 rebounding margin.

ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOKS
• Bauman is first all-time in career (423) and single-season assists (148) and career free throw percentage (88.6) in addition to ranking fourth in three-point field goals (88), 11th in program history in scoring (1,165 points), 12th in made field goals (410) and made free throws (257) and 15th in career field goal percentage (44.9).
• Smith ranks fifth in Babson history with 111 blocked shots and her 56 rejections this winter are good for sixth on the Beavers' single-season list.
• Mollica's 48 three-pointers are the most by a Babson player since 2013 and are fourth on the program's single-season list behind only Erin Young '15 (51 in 2011-12, 54 in 2012-13) and Joanna Maher '03 (56 in 2001-02).

TOURNAMENT TESTED
• Bauman averaged 15.0 points, 5.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds in five postseason games last winter, while Smith contributed 13.8 points on 57.7 percent shooting to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks as Babson advanced to the NEWMAC Tournament final and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Walsh averaged 10.2 points, junior Rachel McMenemy put up 6.4 points and grabbed 5.2 rebounds and junior Madison Odam chipped in with 4.8 points and 6.2 boards.
• Sophomore Camilla Silk averaged 14.6 minutes off the bench and shot 46.7 percent from the floor (7-of-15) and pulled down 3.8 rebounds.

PLANS FOR THE POSTSEASON
• The Green and White, which made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, last winter was second behind Smith in last Wednesday's NCAA Region II rankings and was the seventh seed when the NCAA Division III selection committee released its Top 16 preview last Thursday.
• The Beavers are 10-4 against teams that appeared in last week's regional rankings, which includes victories over the top-ranked team in Region I (Tufts) and wins over five of the seven squads in Region II with its lone loss coming to Smith.

CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION
• Head coach Judy Blinstrub, who ranks fourth among active coaches and 11th in Division III history with 715 wins, has led Babson to 10 conference championships since 1991.
• The Beavers have reached the semifinal round of the NEWMAC Tournament in 13 consecutive seasons and have gone 9-4 in those games, which includes reaching last year's championship game.
• The Green and White has gone 20-3 in conference tournament games played inside Staake Gymnasium since 2009.

FEBRUARY OFFENSIVE
• Over the last six games, the Beavers are averaging 81.4 points and are shooting 51.9 percent overall and 45.4 percent from beyond the arc.
• Babson is scoring 1.13 points per possession during this stretch and averaging 23.3 first-quarter points outscoring its foes 163-71.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 17-0 this season and has won its last 23 games when holding their opponents to 60 points or less.
• Babson is 19-0 on the year when keeping its foes below 40 percent shooting.
• The Green and White is 12-1 this season and has won 15 of its last 16 games inside Staake Gymnasium over the last calendar year.
• The Beavers are 16-1 this season when outrebounding their opponents.
• Babson is 20-1 going back to the start of last season when forcing 18 or more turnovers.
• The Beavers are 18-1 this season and 34-1 since the start of last year when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The winner of Friday's semifinal will face either top-seeded and No. 4/5 Smith or fifth-seeded Springfield in Sunday's tournament final.