NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College basketball team (6-0, 2-0 NEWMAC) will play their final home game of the semester before embarking on a three game road trip to close the term.  The Pioneers will play host to local foe Springfield College (2-4, 0-2 NEWMAC).


Last Meeting: Smith won their fifth consecutive gamewith a 46-35 win at Springfield on February 16, 2011.  Lizzy BelBruno (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) and Devon Quattrocchi (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) led Smith with 12 points apiece.

Smith Overview: A win today would see Smith start the season 7-0, a mark that has not been reached in the NEW6/NEW8/NEWMAC era.  Only the 1972-73 team, which finished 8-0, started off better.  In their last game, Smith overcame poor first half shooting to beat Wheaton College, 56-40.  The Pioneers opened the second half on a 23-4 run that broke open a tie game.  Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) led Smith with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Springfield Overview: A semifinalist at last years NEWMAC tournament, Springfield has dropped three consecutive games, the most recent of which was a 51-42 loss to Wellesley College on December 3.  The Blue finished the game on a 12-0 run to send the Pride to 0-2 in NEWMAC play.  Springfield has not won since an 82-43 win over Thomas College on November 19.

Smith Player to Watch: Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) - the junior tri-captain has started all six games, and is a hawk defensively, averaging nearly two steals a contest.

Springfield Player to Watch: Coleen Dignum is averaging 10.3 points per game while shooting 38% from behind the three point arc.

Did you know? This match up features two schools that are critical to the advance of the game of basketball.  Senda Berenson organized the first ever collegiate women's game at Smith in 1893, while James Naismith invented the sport at Springfield two years earlier, in 1891.