BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior
Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) tied the tournament record with six three-pointers and led three players in double figures with a career-high 24 points to help Babson College defeat visiting Rivier University, 84-66, to conclude the Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament on Friday inside Staake Gymnasium.
Babson, which has won three of its last four games, improves to 7-5 on the year. Rivier has dropped two straight games to slip to 4-7 overall. WPI (7-5) defeated Maine Maritime (7-3), 59-53, in the day's first game to finish as the only unbeaten team in the two-day event.
Mollica finished 8-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 from beyond the arc while dishing out a season-high five assists for the Beavers. Sophomore
Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, while senior
Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) posted her team-leading fourth double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. She also received the Keep On Keepin' On Award which embodies the traits of teamwork, competitiveness and the tenacity to battle in a positive manner that
Judy Pearson '85 showed as a player and in her battle against cancer.
Senior Lyric Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.) broke the single-game tournament scoring record for the second day in a row pouring in 36 points to go along with seven boards for the Raiders. Her 67 points are also a tournament record of 48 set by Caleigh Ryan of Wesleyan back in 2021. Fellow senior Hannah Muchemore (Nashua, N.H.) added 10 points, four assists and three steals in the loss.
Mollica, Reale and Flynn combined for 15 points as the Green and White shot 52.6 percent in the opening quarter to build a 23-11 lead. Reale and Mollica combined for Babson's first 13 points of the second quarter to extend the margin to 36-21 with just over three minutes to go and Flynn knocked down a pair of late free throws to give the hosts a 41-23 advantage at the break.
Grumblatt exploded for 18 third-quarter points as Rivier got as close as 11 early in the stanza, but the Green and White shot 61.5 percent in the frame as the quartet of Reale, Mollica, Flynn and junior
Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.) combined for 20 of the team's 22 points to maintain a 16-point edge. Raiders' senior Alexa Dufries (Leicester, Mass.) opened the fourth with a three-pointer before the Beavers responded with a 13-2 run to put the game away.
Reale scored eight points, Mollica canned her final triple of the game and first-year
Julia St. Laurent (Greenland, N.H.) added a driving layup to give Babson its largest lead of the game at 76-52 with 6:11 remaining in the contest.
The Beavers shot a season-best 54.8 percent from the floor and were 9-of-18 from beyond the arc to go along with a 44-30 edge on the glass. Rivier shot just 33.8 percent and finished 7-of-30 from three-point range, which included going 0-of-13 in the first half.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday as Babson travels to No. 24 Bates at 5 p.m., while Rivier hosts Elms at 4 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 4-0 all-time against Rivier although Friday's contest was the first between the teams since 1996.
• Babson is 9-3 all-time in the Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament, which includes a 6-0 record on day two of the event.
• Mollica's six three-pointers matched Maddie Clark of Wesleyan, who achieved the feat in both 2019 and 2021, for the most in single-game tournament history.
• Eleven different players scored for Babson, which finished with 20 assists on its season-high 34 made field goals.
