Box Score SOUTH HADLEY, Mass.--The Smith College basketball team had its eight game winning streak ended with a 73-52 defeat to No. 22 Babson College on Sunday.  It was the first home loss of the season for Smith.

The game was played at Mount Holyoke College after a facility delay in Ainsworth Gym.

Smith is now 20-3 overall, and 14-2 against NEWMAC foes, with both losses coming to the Beavers.  Babson improved to 21-2, and 16-0 against NEWMAC oppositiion.  The Beavers have now won 81 straight league contests, and clinched a share of their fourth consecutive regular season championship.  Babson also wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NEWMAC tournament on February 23-24.

Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) led Smith with 17 points, while Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) and Devon Quattrocchi (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) chipped in 12 apiece.  Babson was by All-American center Sarah Collins, who notched her 19th double-double of the season with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the floor and collecting 15 boards and blocking three shots.  Collins was one of five Babson players in double-figures - Linnett Graber had 12 points, Kirsten Ferola 11, while Alicia Wilde and Megan Otto each added 10.

Babson jumped out to an early 11-4 lead in the opening minutes of the game, as Graber sandwiched a layup and a three point shot around a hoop from Collins, but Smith pulled within four at the 15:50 mark on a three point shot from Quattrocchi.  Back-to-back buckets from Collins and Ferola put the Beavers up 23-13, but Smith countered with a 10-0 run to tie the score, kickstarted by a layup from Marissa Munoz-Ruiz (Fairfield, Calif./Justin-Siena), and Solis converted a pair of three point plays.

The Beavers finished the first half on a 15-5 run, as Graber's layup with 11 seconds remaining sent Babson into the break up 40-30.

Babson picked up where they left off in the second half, opening the period on a 13-2 run that put the game out of reach.  Collins had seven points during that burst, and Babson led by as many as 21.   Smith shot 21.2% in the second half (7-for-33), while Babson shot 63.6% in the second half (14-for-22) and 60% for the game (30-for-50).

Before the game, Smith honored three members of the class of 2013 who have brought a change to the culture of Smith basketball.  Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School), Devon Quattrocchi (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), and Brittany Purington (Weare, N.H./John Stark) have a four year recor of 74 wins and 30 losses, and an ECAC Championship, including a school record 23 victories in 2011-12.

Smith will be on the road for the final two games of the regular season, starting with a trip to WPI on February 13 at 7 p.m.  Babson will play at Clark, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. on February 13.