ST. LEO, Fla.— Senior Erin Jayne (Merrimac, Mass.) and graduate student Emily Curtis (Walpole, Mass.) tallied four goals and three assists apiece and sophomore Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) produced three goals and two assists and collected a career-high 13 draw controls as Babson College defeated Rhodes College (Tenn.), 20-11, in non-conference women's lacrosse action Monday evening at Saint Leo University's Turf Stadium.

With the victory, Babson posted its first win of the season and improved to 1-3 while Rhodes, which finished with a 15-4 record last spring after winning the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, dropped to 3-4 this season.

Senior Claudia Dodge (Pelham, N.Y.) contributed three goals to the cause for Babson while sophomore Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) added two goals and an assist and senior Anna Katherine Sypniewski (Vero Beach, Fla.) chipped in with a goal and an assist in the triumph. Junior Nicole Darveau (Sudbury, Mass.) and sophomores Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) and Cameron Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied one goal each and junior Kayleigh Hacker (Natick, Mass.) scooped up a team-high five ground balls.

Junior Avery Burke (Dunn Loring, Va.) led the Lynx with five goals and six draw controls, senior Carina Wesker (Baltimore, Md.) added three goals and senior Emily Bruner (Gaithersburg, Md.) contributed three assists. Sophomore Anna Erskine (Arlington, Va.) chipped in with two goals and junior Chloe Parker (Sparks, Md.) scored once and caused three turnovers in the setback.

Babson burst out of the gates with five goals in the first five minutes, including two goals and two assists from Connolly, two goals from Dodge, and a goal and an assist from Curtis. Curtis, Evans and Darveau found the back of the net to extend the Beaver margin to 8-0 before Rhodes got on the board with a pair in the final minute of the first quarter to make it 8-2 after one frame.

The Green and White continued the onslaught with the first three strikes and four of the first of the second period, including three goals by Jayne and one by Dodge. Rhodes got back-to-back goals from Wesker and Burke, but Babson answered with four of the next four goals to close out the first half, with goals by Rabenold, Blake, Curtis and Jayne, and the teams went into the break with Babson up 16-6.

Both squads scored twice in the third quarter, with Erskine and Burke sandwiching Rhodes goals around strikes by Blake and Curtis for Babson, and the teams alternated goals in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.

The Beavers finished with a 32-19 advantage in shots, a 15-10 margin in ground balls and 20-13 lead in draw controls. Babson sophomore Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) made five saves in goal and Rhodes senior Emma Bradley (Alexandria, Va.) made four stops at the other end.

Babson returns home to open their 2023 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schedule this Saturday at 1 p.m. vs. defending champion and preseason favorite Springfield. Rhodes will play again Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., against Franklin & Marshall.

GAME NOTES
• Monday was the first meeting all-time between Babson and Rhodes.
• The Green and White reached the 20-goal mark for the first time this season after achieving the milestone four times in a strong of five games last April.
• The Beavers are 14-1 since the start of last season and 44-3 since 2018 when scoring at least 12 goals.
• Jayne extended her points streak to 32 games dating back to the start of last season.