MIT Women’s Basketball faces a loss at home
MIT Women’s Basketball was defeated 67-61 by Springfield College
Courtesy of Robert Krawitz
MIT Women’s Basketball played their third last NEWMAC Regular Season game against Springfield College on Saturday, Feb. 15. The team faced an unfortunate 67-61 loss after playing exceptionally in the first three quarters of the game. Christina Antonakakis ’22, Jocelyn Luizzi ’21, Annika Sougstad ’22, and Cindy Si ’20 played remarkably for the Engineers.
The game started off as a back-and-forth affair until MIT picked up momentum and ended the first quarter with a 10-5 run, to lead the game 16-11 at the end of the quarter. The second quarter was also played closely, featuring two ties and four lead changes. The highly competitive first half ended at the score 28-26, MIT above by just two points.
The third quarter was dominated by MIT even after a favorable start to the quarter for Springfield College. The Engineers featured a 20-5 run ignited by a lay up from Alexis Groark ’20. The quarter ended with a pair of buckets by Springfield’s Sam Hourihan, which ended their scoring drought and cut the deficit to 9 points. The quarter ended with MIT leading 48-39.
Even though MIT seemed to be in the driver’s seat to start the fourth quarter with a 9 point lead, Springfield College came out much stronger as they started reducing the deficit with a spree of baskets and defensive stops. The Pride eventually got the go ahead bucket with a three pointer by Stephanie Lyons at the 4:42 mark. Springfield College then added points to their total, gaining a 7 point lead in the last minute. With 15 seconds to go, Si scored a trey, trying to get back into the game, but this effort was a bit too late as time ran out, ending the game at 67-61.
Throughout the match, MIT shot 35.5% from the floor, 36.8% from three-point range, and an exceptional 83.3% from the free throw line. Antonakakis led the Engineers in points and assists as she scored 18 points and dished seven assists, while Luizzi scored 14 points and registered eight boards. Si scored ten points and four steals, Sougstad scored seven points and notched three steals while Groark collected eight boards.
MIT will next host Wellesley College on Wednesday, Feb. 19 followed by playing an away game against Wheaton College on Saturday, Feb. 22 to end the NEWMAC regular season.