NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College basketball team (10-3, 5-2 NEWMAC) will host No. 21 Babson College (11-2. 7-0 NEWMAC) in a rematch of the 2011 conference championship game on Saturday afternoon.  The Beavers have won the last three conference tournament championships, and the last two regular season titles.


Last Meeting: The Beavers beat Smith 74-49 in the NEWMAC tournament championship game on February 27, 2011 to advance to their third straight NCAA tournament.  Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) led Smith with 12 points.  The Beavers won their 27th straight game and would advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, falling to eventual national champion Amherst College. 

Last Smith Win: Smith upset the Beavers 65-58 on January 24, 2009.  Anna Veltri scored 26 points, connecting on 7-of-14 shots, including 4-of-6 from behind the arc as Smith improved to 8-8.

Smith Overview:  The Pioneers rebounded from a tough loss to Wellesley with a 92-59 shellacking of Clark University on Wednesday night.  Maddie Page (Arvada, Colo./Jefferson Acad.) led four players in double-figures with a career high 19 points.  Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) and Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) tossed in 12 points apiece, while Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) added 11. 

Babson Overview: Ranked No. 21 in the latest d3hoops.com poll, Babson has already lost more games this year (two) than they did all of last season (one).  Still dominant in conference play, the Beavers have won 44 consecutive NEWMAC games, dating back to the 2008-09 season. 

Smith Player to Watch: Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) hit double-figures for the first time this season against Clark, while passing out a season best four assists.

Babson Player(s) to Watch: The three pronged front line of Nicki Wurdeman, Kathleen King, and Sarah Collins are the top three scorers in the NEWMAC, averaging 18.2, 15.5, and 15.3 points, respectively.  That's 68% of the Babson offense. 

Did you know?  First year Alyssa Barrett (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) has hit a three pointer in four consecutive games.