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Dale Lougee

Basketball Clipped By WPI, 69-61 in Overtime

January 04, 2014

Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) scored 24 points, moving into third place on the all-time list of scorers at Smith, but it was not enough as the Pioneers fell to Worcester Polytechnic Institute 69-61 in overtime in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon.

Drummond moved past Lauren Kernochan '00 and Jennifer Ramsey '92 and now has 1,186 career points.  She trails only Tammy Drummond '84 (no relation, 1,399 points) and Phoebe Jacob (1,441 points) on the list of point scorers at Smith.  Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) added 14 points, and Mandy Castro (San Diego, Calif./Poway) chipped in eight.

Dani Davis led five WPI players in double-figures with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Rachel Pineda, Jessica Larsen, Siena Mamayek, and Amaia Gritsko each had 11.  Those five combined for 60 of WPI's 69 points.  Larsen had a double-double, collecting 10 boards to go with her 11 points.

Smith is now 2-7, and 2-4 in the NEWMAC, while WPI is 4-6, and 2-3 against NEWMAC foes.

Drummond scored Smith's first nine points of the game as the Pioneers jumped out to an early lead, but WPI wents on a 10-2 run to lead 12-9 at the 12:36 mark of the first half.  The Engineers expanded their lead to eight on Dani Davis' free throw with 3:03 to play in the first half, but Smith clawed back within five on Drummond three pointer with 28 seconds left in the first half.  WPI led 29-24 at halftime.

The Pioneers came out the halftime break on fire, scoring the first nine points of the stanza for a 33-29 lead.  Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) hit a three on Smith's first possesion, and Drumond hit a pair of jumpers as Smith went back in front.  

Morgan Kelly responded for the visitors with a pair of three point baskets as WPI went back up 35-33, but back came Smith, getting buckets from Drummond and Solis to take a 39-38 advantage.  Smith pushed the lead up to 46-40, as Lauren Weston (Florence, Mass./Northampton) fed Mandy Castro (San Diego, Calif./Poway) for a three point shot, and Solis connected with Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) for a layup with 10:10 to play.  

Smith led 54-49 with 3:19 left in the game, but WPI closed regulation on a 6-1 run to force overtime.  After Jessica Larsen's free throw got the Engineers within four at 54-50, Pineda's layup closed the gap to 54-52 with 50 seconds to play.  Solis went 1-for-2 from the line, and on WPI's next possession, Amaia Gritsko converted a conventional three point play to knot the score at 55.

Both teams had one final chance to win in regulation.  Smith brought the ball up, but turned it over, and Davis' three at the buzzer was long.

In overtime, WPI quickly went up 59-55 on two free throws each by Davis and Pineda, but Smith tied the score at 59 as Weston put back a Drummond miss, and Drummond knocked down a 12 footer that rolled around the rim and in.  Davis hit a three for the Engineers next time down the court, and WPI never looked back, sinking five of eight free throws in the final 1:08 to seal the win.

WPI held advantages in rebounding (40-33) and at the free throw line, shooting 20 of 26 free throws while Smith made six of eight.  It was the first time WPI had beaten Smith since 2010, and the first OT loss for the Pioneers since a 72-70 setback at Westfield State University on November 17, 2010.

Smith heads to MIT for a NEWMAC game that starts at 7 p.m. on January 7.  WPI will also be on the road, traveling to Wheaton College on the same evening.

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