BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) scored a game-high 12 points and Babson College used a stifling defensive effort to defeat WPI, 52-30, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday inside Staake Gymnasium.
With its second consecutive win, Babson improves to 11-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play. WPI has dropped its last three games to slip to 10-8 overall and 1-3 in the NEWMAC.
Graduate student Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) scored 10 points, senior Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.) contributed nine points and three steals, and sophomore Rylie Rosenberg (New Rochelle, N.Y.) chipped in with seven points, three assists and three steals to lead the Beavers. Perreault and first-year Alyssa Hopps (Quincy, Mass.) tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds in the win.
Junior Ava Hyams (Kearny, N.J.) finished with six points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while classmate Leila Nielsen (New York, N.Y.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored six points to pace the Engineers.
With the game tied 6-6 just over three minutes into the contest, Perreault and Carlo drilled back-to-back three-pointers sparking 12-0 run that gave the Green and White an 18-6 edge 59 seconds into the second quarter. Junior Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, Conn.) stopped the run momentarily with two free throws but the Beavers followed with 11 straight points, including triples by Flynn and Rosenberg, to extend the margin to 29-8 on a free throw by Carlo with 1:53 to go until halftime.
Giansiracusa ended a field goal drought of more than 14 and a half minutes and Hyams followed with four straight points to cut the WPI deficit to 31-12 going into the locker room. Carlo started the second half with a trifecta and Flynn went 4-of-4 at the free throw line to give Babson its largest lead of the game at 38-12 less than two minutes into the third quarter.
The Engineers outscored the hosts 9-4 over the final 5:51 of the third and got hoops from senior Kayleigh Carson (Seymour, Conn.) and classmate Megan Stone (Hanson, Mass.) to start fourth, cutting their deficit to 44-28 with 8:26 remaining. Babson answered with consecutive layups by sophomore Julia St. Laurent (Greenland, N.H.) and another from Perreault to regain a 22-point lead at the 5:37 mark and held WPI without a field goal for more than five minutes down the stretch.
The Beavers shot just 28.6 percent but finished with a 40-32 edge on the glass and scored 15 points off of 22 turnovers by the Engineers. WPI, which made just two first-half field goals, shot a season-worst 20.5 percent in the loss.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Mount Holyoke at 1 p.m., while WPI meets Emerson at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 42-27 all-time against WPI and have won five of their last six games between the teams inside Staake Gymnasium.
• Babson has won 68 consecutive games when holding its foes below 30 percent shooting and its last 74 contests when allowing fewer than 50 points.
• The Green and White is 10-4 on the year when outrebounding its opponents.
• Wednesday's victory marks the first time the Beavers have won when shooting below 30 percent dating back to at least the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
