No. 10/13 Women's Basketball vs. SUNY New Paltz
NCAA Tournament Second Round | Babson Park Regional
Saturday, March 4 | 7:15 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.
WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson was selected as one of 16 regional hosts and defeated Maine Maritime, 69-44, in Friday's first round.
• SUNY New Paltz took an early lead and never looked back beating Gettysburg 63-47 in Friday's other contest to set up a rematch of last year's NCAA first round matchup between the Beavers and Hawks on Saturday night inside Staake Gymnasium.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
• Junior Kelly Walsh led four players in double figures with 15 points and six steals as Babson pulled away for a 69-44 win over Maine Maritime.
• Senior Samantha Smith and sophomore Katelyn Mollica both scored 13 points and senior Megan Bauman added 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Beavers, who outscored the Mariners 39-16 in the second half.
• Brianna Fitzgerald poured in 23 points and Jenny Walton added 17 to help New Paltz dispatch Gettysburg, 63-47.
• The Hawks finished with a 43-30 edge on the glass and forced 22 turnovers while outscoring the Bullets 18-7 in the second quarter to build a 33-23 halftime lead.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 2-0 all-time against New Paltz with both victories coming in the NCAA Tournament.
• Walsh led four players in double figures with 18 points to help the Beavers defeat the Hawks, 79-66, in last year's first round in Scranton, Pa.
• The Green and White also defeated New Paltz, 61-45, in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 10 WBCA/No. 13 D3hoops.com Babson (23-5) advanced to its second consecutive NEWMAC Tournament final where it suffered a 67-52 loss to No. 4/5 Smith on Sunday afternoon.
• Walsh scored a season-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting and Smith added 12 points for the Beavers, who trailed by just three early in the fourth quarter.
• Bauman (13.9 pts, 5.6 ast, 3.7 reb) ranks fifth in Division III in assists, Smith (12.6 pts, 7.5 reb, 2.1 blocks) is shooting 58.9 percent over the last six games, and Walsh (11.5 pts, 4.6 reb, 2.3 steals) has averaged 17.8 points on 56.5 percent shooting over her last five outings.
• The Green and White ranks 15th in Division III shooting 44.4 percent and is 53rd nationally with a +6.8 rebounding margin.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
• SUNY New Paltz (24-4) suffered a 57-52 loss to Cortland that snapped its 20-game winning streak in the SUNYAC Tournament final last Saturday.
• Brianna Fitzgerald poured in 28 points to go along with nine rebounds and Lexi Van Vorst added eight points for the Hawks, which shot just 34 percent and was outrebounded 39-27 by the Red Dragons.
• Fitzgerald (15.6 pts, 7.3 reb, 3.0 ast, 2.3 steals) has scored 20 or more points in five of the last eight games, Jenny Walton (9.6 pts, 3.1 reb) leads the team with 37 three-point field goals and Van Vorst (8.0 pts, 2.1 ast) is averaging 14.7 points while hitting nine triples over the last three contests.
• New Paltz ranks eighth in Division III in both scoring defense (48.3 points) and three-point field goal defense (22.4), and has held 12 straight opponents below 60 points.
VETERAN TRIO EARNS ALL-NEWMAC RECOGNITION
• Bauman, Smith and Walsh were all named to the all-conference squads when the NEWMAC released its postseason awards on Tuesday.
• A second-team selection last winter, Smith was tabbed as the NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the first time after averaging 13.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and a league-high 2.3 blocks while shooting 56.2 percent in league play.
• A three-time all-conference selection, Bauman collected first-team honors for the second year in a row after averaging 14.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and a NEWMAC-best 7.1 assists while shooting 53 percent in 10 games.
• Walsh garnered all-conference second-team honors for the first time in her career after contributing 9.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals in nine outings against league foes.
SENSATIONAL SENIORS
• Two-year captains Bauman and Smith have helped lead the Beavers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths and a record of 73-21 since arriving in Babson Park back in 2019.
• Bauman is the program's all-time (442) and single-season assist leader with 167 dimes this winter, and also ranks fourth all-time in three-point field goals (88) and 10th on the school's career scoring list with 1,197 points. She is also the only player in Babson history to amass more than 1,100 points, 350 rebounds, 400 assists and 100 steals.
• Smith is tied for fourth in program history in blocked shots (116) and ranks fifth all-time in field goal percentage (50.3). She also surpassed 500 career rebounds in Friday's win.
ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOKS
• Bauman ranks first in Division III shooting 91.9 percent at the free throw line this winter and enters the NCAA Tournament in fifth place in Division III history with a 88.8 percent career mark at the charity stripe.
• Mollica's 52 three-pointers rank third on Babson's single-season list behind only Joanna Maher '03 (56, 2001-02) and Erin Young '15 (54, 2012-13). She enters the NCAA Tournament shooting 41.5 percent from distance, which also ranks second on the program's single-season list.
• Smith's 61 blocked shots this winter rank sixth on the Beavers' single-season list and are the most since 2012-13 when Sarah Collins '13 swatted away 99 shots.
LONG TIME COMING
• Despite winning more than 26 in four consecutive seasons between 2009-13, Babson will host its first NCAA Tournament action since losing to Capital (Ohio) in a sectional semifinal back in 1993.
HOME, SWEET HOME
• The Beavers are 14-1 inside Staake Gymnasium this season with their lone loss coming against Trinity (Conn.) on January 23.
• Ten of Babson's 14 wins this winter have come by at least 10 points and it is outscoring opponents by 0.27 points per possession at home.
• Going back to December 2013, the Green and White owns a winning percentage of .808 (97-23) inside Staake Gymnasium.
TOURNAMENT TESTED
• Smith (17.5 points), Walsh (14.0), Bauman (12.5) and junior Rachel McMenemy (10.0) all averaged double figures in NCAA Tournament games against SUNY New Paltz and Scranton last season.
• Smith and McMenemy combined to shoot 63.4 percent while Bauman dished out 17 assists against just four turnovers in the two games.
• In eight postseason games over the last two seasons, Smith is averaging 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, Bauman is averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 assists and Walsh has contributed 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
EXPERIENCE ON THE SIDELINES
• Babson head coach Judy Blinstrub is fourth among active coaches with 716 wins and ranks 11th all-time among Division III coaches in victories.
• Only one coach in this year's NCAA Tournament – Michael Miller of Messiah (735 wins) – has more victories than Blinstrub.
• Now in her 39th season, she boasts a .685 winning percentage (716-329) and has led her teams to 20 or more wins 16 times.
• Blinstrub also owns a 13-11 record in the NCAA Tournament.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 20-1 this season and have won 83 of their last 84 games going back to the start of the 2018-19 campaign when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
• Babson is 21-0 this winter when holding its opponents below 40 percent shooting.
• The Beavers are 17-1 on the year when outrebounding their foes.
• The Green and White is 9-1 this season and 20-1 going back to the start of last year when forcing 18 or more turnovers.
• Babson is 19-2 since the start of last season when making at least six three-pointers.
• The Beavers are 20-0 on the year when giving up less than 65 points.
