Women’s basketball overtakes Mount Holyoke
MIT’s scoring effort is too much for Lyons’ late second half run, Engineers win, 57-44
The MIT women’s basketball team saw four players reach double-digits in scoring as it defeated Mount Holyoke College, 57-44, in a NEWMAC contest on Saturday. Sabrina M. Drammis ’16 led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in leading the Engineers (9-11, 5-9 NEWMAC) to their first series sweep of the Lyons. Sophomore Amber Legare paced Mount Holyoke (5-14, 3-11 NEWMAC) with 12 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
After trading baskets to start the game, MIT eventually established a 21-7 advantage with 5:37 left in the half. A layup by Legare ended a six-minute scoring drought for the Lyons but baskets by Drammis and two free throws from Durva N. Bhandare ’16 extended the margin to 18 (27-9) with 2:26 remaining. Mount Holyoke responded with an 8-2 spurt to close the half trailing, 29-17. Junior Jennine Vizcaino provided the first six points of the rally while senior Angelica Pascual drained a layup right before the buzzer sounded.
The Engineers maintained their double-digit lead early in the second stanza until sophomore Kate Karraker drained back-to-back three-pointers and Legare registered a layup and two free throws to bring the Lyons within six (36-30) at the 14:05 mark. MIT replied with a 16-2 run that spanned six minutes and resulted in its largest lead of the day at 52-32. Drammis racked up six points during the rally while Mari R. Kordell ’15 and Michelle Battipaglia ’15 both had five.
Mount Holyoke slowly chipped away at the deficit as a pair of Pascual three pointers fueled a 12-1 run which narrowed the gap to nine (53-44) with 2:17 on the clock. This was as close as it would get as Maya K. Ramachandran ’16 drained a driving layup with just over a minute to go while Kordell capped the scoring courtesy of two free throws with 21 seconds left.
Kordell tallied 12 points, five assists, and three steals while Ramachandran posted 11 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Bhandare registered 11 points, three steals, and three assists as Battipaglia contributed seven points and six rebounds. Lauren S. Burton ’13 rounded out the squad with six rebounds and three steals. As a team, the Engineers led the way in points in the paint (20-10), points off turnovers (20-9), and bench scoring (17-2).
Pascual finished with 11 points and three assists as Karraker totaled nine points and four rebounds. Vizcaino tacked on eight rebounds and six points while senior Jasmine Brown chipped in four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Genelle Green grabbed a team-high two steals and added four rebounds to Lyons’ cause.
Both squads continue NEWMAC action on Wednesday, February 6. MIT will visit nationally-ranked No. 18 Babson College while Mount Holyoke will host WPI.