BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) scored 11 of her team-high 20 points in the pivotal third quarter as No. 11 WBCA/No. 12 D3hoops.com Babson College defeated MIT, 77-66, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

With its fourth straight win, second-seeded Babson improves to 23-4 overall and advances to the NEWMAC Tournament final for the second year in a row. MIT, which won 11 of its final 13 games of the year, finishes the season at 17-10.

Walsh was 8-of-16 shooting and added a game-high five steals, while senior Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Beavers. Senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) contributed 13 of her 15 points in the second half and added four assists and three boards in the victory.

Sophomore Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, Ill.) posted a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds and classmate Angie Choi (Cypress, Calif.) knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 18 points for the Engineers. First-year Alice Hall (Ambler, Pa.) chipped in with 11 points and a game-high 12 boards, while sophomore Sarah Berman (York, Pa.) had 10 points in the loss.

Tied at 30 at the half, the Green and White seized control with a 21-9 run to start the third quarter. Junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) converted a three-point play and back-to-back steals by Walsh led to eight straight points as the Beavers pushed their advantage to 43-34 on a layup by Bauman with 4:58 to go in the period.

MIT, which overcame a 1-of-10 shooting effort from the floor by going 14-of-16 at the free throw line, trimmed a 12-point deficit down to five on a free throw by Choi with 44 seconds left in the stanza before Walsh canned a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to stretch the margin back to 54-46. The Engineers scored on three of their first four possessions of the fourth quarter to get within 56-53 on a triple by Choi, but the Green and White answered back with a 11-2 spurt.

First-year Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) and Walsh both drilled three-pointers and Bauman followed with an old-fashioned three-point play to help the Beavers match their largest lead of the night at 67-55 with 5:28 remaining. MIT got as close as nine four times over the final three minutes but Babson responded with a hoop each time.

MIT hit three early triples to build a 13-5 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Three Green and White was just 3-of-19 shooting in the opening quarter before using an extended 15-5 run to go in front 20-18 on a jumper by Walsh with 4:41 to go in the second. The lead changed hands seven times over the final four-plus minutes of the frame and Hall hit 1-of-2 free throws with 7.9 seconds left to send the teams into the locker room deadlocked.

The Beavers shot 58 percent over the final three quarters and 44.9 percent for the game in addition to outscoring the Engineers 40-16 in the paint. MIT shot just 33.9 percent but finished with a 40-39 edge on the glass.

Babson will travel to Northampton, Mass., to take on No. 4/5 Smith in Sunday's NEWMAC Tournament final at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 58-13 all-time against MIT, which includes a 6-2 record against the Engineers in the conference playoffs.
• Babson is now 20-0 on the year when holding its opponents below 40 percent shooting.
• The Beavers are 15-0 this winter when scoring at least 70 points.
• Babson is now 13-1 at home on the year and has won 16 of its last 17 games inside Staake Gymnasium dating back to last February.