Women's Basketball at WPI
Thursday, January 14 - 7 p.m.
Harrington Auditorium - Worcester, Mass.
Live Stats        Video

Last Meeting
Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 17 seconds to complete the combeack win for the Pioneers over WPI, 45-40, on February 18, 2015 in Northampton. Holland scored a team-high nine points while Samantha Alakai (Pukalani, Hawaii/Punahou School) chipped in eight points, three rebounds and a pair of blocks. Smith was down 31-22 midway through the second half before mounting their comeback. 

The Series
This is the 40th meeting in a series that dates back to the 1989 season with WPI holding a 22-18 advantage. The Pioneers won both meetings with WPI last seas and Smith is 5-13 playing at WPI. 

The Engineers
WPI (13-1, 5-0 NEWMAC) has won 11-straight games after their 56-46 come-from-behind NEWMAC victory over Wheaton on Saturday.  The Engineers used a 17-0 run to take a nine-point lead with less than a minute remaining. In that game, Ama Biney paced her team with 11 points and six rebounds while Priscilla Dunphy added 10 points and three boards. Biney is third in the NEWMAC, shooting 35 percent from behind the arc. WPI won the Worcester City Tournament and the Daytona Beach Shootout this season. The Engineers average 60.2 points per game and are shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from 3-point range. WPI was picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches poll. 

The Pioneers
Smith (5-7, 2-3 NEWMAC) aims to win back-to-back games for the first time this season after their 61-53 NEWMAC victory over Emerson College Tuesday evening. In that game, first-year Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, GA/The Lawrenceville School) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. First-year guard Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) also added 16 points, four boards, four assists and three steals while Alakai added nine points, five rebounds and three steals off the bench. Guest-Pritchett is third in the NEWMAC with 9.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 49.2 percent from the field. Bondi (32.7 %) and Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Preparatory) (32.4%) are both ranked in the top-five of the conference in three-point shooting percentage. The Pioneers score 63.6 points per game and are shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from long distance. Smith was selected to finish fifth in the NEWMAC preseason coaches poll. 

Next Up
Smith heads to Wheaton for a conference matchup with the Lyons on Saturday, January 16. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.

           2015-16 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Standings

School	Conference	Overall
WPI	5-0	13-1
MIT	5-1	9-4
Springfield	4-1	9-4
Babson	4-1	8-5
Coast Guard	4-1	7-5
Wheaton	3-2	10-4
Smith	2-3	5-7
Emerson	1-5	3-9
Wellesley	1-5	3-10
Clark	1-5	3-11
Mount Holyoke	0-6	0-14

 
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