BABSON PARK, Mass.—Graduate student Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) led four players in double figures with 19 points and Babson College held off a late rally to defeat UC Santa Cruz, 72-70, in the finale of the Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament on Tuesday evening inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its third straight win, Babson improves to 7-4 on the year. The Beavers went 2-0 in the tournament for the first time since 2022 and fourth time in the seven-year history of the event. UC Santa Cruz is now 8-8 overall this season. 

Flynn was 8-of-15 shooting and scored seven of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, while sophomore Alessa Mendoza (Yonkers, N.Y.) contributed a career-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds to pace the Green and White. Fellow sophomore Julia St. Laurent (Greenland, N.H.) scored a career-best 12 points while dishing out three assists and classmate Rylie Rosenberg (New Rochelle, N.Y.) finished with 10 points and three assists in the win. 

Senior Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.), who 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, chipped in with seven points and a team-high 10 boards for the Beavers. 

Sophomore Emilie Ngo (San Jose, Calif.) scored 10 of her team-high 19 points in the fourth period while leading all players with six assists and four steals to lead the Banana Slugs. First-year Katie Busch (Oceanside, Calif.) scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, junior Sarah Reuter (Newcastle, Calif.) added 11 points and five assists, and sophomore Danielle Tyner (San Jose, Calif.) posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the loss. 
UC Santa Cruz shot 62.5 percent in the opening frame to build a 25-19 advantage on a layup by Ngo before Babson with a 13-0 run that included four points by Mendoza and baskets from five different players to go in front 32-25 with 6:54 to go in the second quarter. First-year Molly Donovan (Duxbury, Mass.) and Flynn answered a jumper by Ngo to make it a nine-point game and St. Laurent and Rosenberg followed with free throws to give the Beavers a 40-31 lead with 1:11 to go before halftime. 

The Green and White scored on its first four possessions of the third period including a three-point play by Flynn to get things started and a left-wing triple by senior Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.) that extended the margin to 52-39 with 8:09 left in the frame. The Banana Slugs responded with 11 straight points over the next seven-plus minutes but St. Laurent stopped the spurt with a driving layup and Mendoza beat the buzzer with a runner from the free throw line to help the hosts regain a 56-50 edge going to the fourth. 

UC Santa Cruz pulled within two less than a minute into the stanza and used a three-pointer by Ngo and a putback by Tyner to cut its deficit to 62-61 with 4:52 remaining. Mendoza and Flynn responded by scoring on back-to-back trips to push the Babson lead back to five at the 3:59 mark, but Busch drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to make it a two-point game again with 2:08 to go. 

Flynn buried a huge triple two possessions later and Carlo followed with a pair of free throws to give the hosts a 71-64 advantage with 39 seconds to play. The Banana Slugs used consecutive trifectas by Busch and Ngo to get as close as 71-70 with 15.9 seconds left, but were unable to connect on two chances to tie the game in the waning seconds. 

The Beavers shot 45.2 percent from the floor and outscored UC Santa Cruz 40-28 in the paint while finishing with a 38-32 edge on the glass. The Banana Slugs, who made 10 three-pointers, shot 41.3 percent overall in the loss. 

Babson returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Connecticut College at 3 p.m., while UC Santa Cruz visits MIT on Friday at 1 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 2-0 all-time against the Banana Slugs and Tuesday's contest was the first between the teams since 2000.
•    Babson improves to 11-3 all-time in the Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament. 
•    The Green and White has rebounded each of its first 11 opponents this season and is now 5-0 on the year when scoring at least 70 points. 
•    The Beavers, who beat Hartford 67-65 in Monday's tournament opener, recorded back-to-back wins of three points or fewer for the first time since the final two games of the 2021-22 regular season with Tuesday's victory.