BOSTON—Sophomore Bri Frongillo (Hopedale, Mass.) and senior Ella Bushee (Walpole, N.H.) combined for 50 points to help Emerson College defeat visiting Babson College, 78-64, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Brown and Plofker Gymnasium. 

Babson has dropped two straight games to slip to 6-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Emerson recorded its sixth consecutive victory to improve to 10-5 overall and 1-0 in the NEWMAC. 

Junior Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) and first-year Samantha Reale (North Attlebro, Mass.) both scored 16 points and junior Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) added 12 points and nine rebounds to lead the Beavers. Senior Rachel McMenemy (Northborough, Mass.) chipped in with six points and sophomore Chloe Perrault (Danbury, Conn.) grabbed eight boards in the loss. 

Frongillo went 16-of-17 at the free throw line and led all players with 30 points, while Bushee went 8-of-9 from the floor to finish with 20 points for the Lions. Senior Olivia Deslauriers (West Hartford, Conn.) knocked down three three-pointers and contributed 11 points and three steals in the victory. 

Reale, Mollica and McMenemy combined for 14 points to help the Green and White take its largest lead of the game at 17-8 late in the first quarter. The Beavers were still up six after a layup by sophomore Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.) just over four minutes into the second before first-year Kendra Dodd (Tampa, Fla.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Bushee followed with 10 straight points to key a 19-5 run that put Emerson in front 34-26 with 1:33 to go before halftime. 

Reale and Silk combined for eight points to cut Babson's deficit to five at the half and a three-point play and a jumper by Mollica pulled the visitors even at 41-41 midway through the third. The Lions outscored the Beavers 11-4 to close the stanza but three straight points by Silk and back-to-back hoops by Mollica and Reale got the Green and White back within 53-52 with 5:35 to play in the contest. 

Frongillo and Deslauriers took over down the stretch though, combining for 13 straight and 23 of Emerson's 25 points over the final five-plus minutes. Frongillo knocked down four free throws, Deslauriers drilled a pair of triples and Bushee finished a layup to cap 15-3 run that stretched the margin to 68-55 with 2:23 left. 

The Beavers shot 39.7 percent from the floor, outrebounded Emerson 37-27 and outscored the hosts 36-24 in the paint but went just 2-of-13 from three-point range. The Lions shot 41.5 percent from the floor and went 16-of-18 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) for the game. 

Both teams return to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as Babson hosts No. 17/13 Smith while Emerson travels to Wellesley. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 14-2 all-time against Emerson and Saturday's loss snapped their four-game winning streak in the series. 
•    Prior to Saturday, Babson had not allowed more than 64 points in six consecutive outings. 
•    Saturday's setback snapped the Beavers' eight-game winning streak in conference openers and marked just the second time in the last 19 seasons that they have started NEWMAC play 0-1. 
•    Babson is now 6-2 this winter when outrebounding its opponents.