BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Katelyn Mollica (Foxboro, Mass.) poured in a career-high 19 points and senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) contributed a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 12 assists as No. 16/18 Babson College rolled past Wheaton College, 86-43, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson has won 11 of its last 13 games to improve to 18-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference, while Wheaton dropped its second in a row to a nationally-ranked team and fell to 12-10 overall and 2-5 in league play.

Mollica converted 7-of-9 shots from the field, including all three attempts from beyond the arc, while adding three rebounds and three assists. Bauman made 8-of-13 shots and classmate Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and seven boards for the Beavers, who had a dozen players get into the scoring column.

First-year Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) led the Lyons with 13 points, canning 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range. Sophomore Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) produced eight points and a team-high nine rebounds and first-year Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) contributed nine points and five boards.

After opening the game with the first six points, Babson used a 10-0 run to open up a double-digit lead, 16-4. Sophomore Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) made a pair of baskets in the run while Mollica converted a traditional three-point play and drained a three from beyond the arc to cap the surge. Wheaton rebounded to outscore the Green and White 6-4 in the last three minutes of the quarter, highlighted by a triple from Sprague, to make it 20-10 after the first frame.

Mollica repeated the trick with six points on an and-1 and a long-ball early in the second quarter as Babson extended its lead to 31-14. First-year Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) followed with a pair of jumpers and Bauman hit a three-pointer as the Beaver lead ballooned to 38-15 with three minutes remaining in the half. Babson sophomore Abby Miller (Millis, Mass.) and Walters traded baskets in the final minute of the frame to send the teams into the break with the Green and White up 42-18.

The teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter, Wheaton pulling to within 21 points after a three-pointer by Walters and Babson getting the lead up to 28 after another triple by Mollica midway through the stanza. First-year Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) and Arnold each hit threes, sandwiched around a layup by first-year Reagan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) as the Lions got to within 20 points at 58-38 but Smith and junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) made back-to-back layups for Babson to push the margin back up to 25 at the end of the third, 63-38.

The Beavers put away the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 23-5 to secure the victory.

Babson shot 53.7 percent from the field (36-of-67) and 54.5 percent from long range (6-of-11) while holding Wheaton to 25.9 percent overall (14-of-54) and 23.8 percent from outside the arc (5-of-21). The Beavers finished with a 48-28 advantage on the glass.

Both teams play conference games again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as Babson visits Wellesley and Wheaton hosts Coast Guard.

GAME NOTES
• Prior to the game, Babson paid tribute to its two seniors, Bauman and Smith, who have helped the Beavers to a record of 66-19, a NEWMAC regular season title in 2020, a perfect 11-0 record in 2021 and a 20-win season last winter that included an NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Babson has won 11 consecutive games against the Lyons going back to 2015 and is now 50-16 all-time against Wheaton in a series that dates back to the 1977-78 season.
• The Beavers have won 27 of their last 29 NEWMAC regular season games dating back to February of 2019.
• The Green and White are 10-1 inside Staake Gymnasium this season and have gone 28-4 at home since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
• Babson has won all seven games this season to extend its winning streak to 55 in a row since 2014 when holding the opponent to less than 30 percent shooting efficiency.