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Game Preview: Basketball at Babson

January 08, 2016

Women's Basketball at Babson
Saturday, January 9 - 1 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium - Babson Park, Mass.
Live Stats Video

Last Meeting
Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, GA/The Lawrenceville School) posted a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds, both career-high numbers for the first-year forward, in a 81-56 loss on December 5 in Northampton. Giovanna Pickering finished with 24 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Beavers, while first-year Elizabeth Lane added 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

The Series
Babson holds a 35-10 lead as these two programs will meet for the 46th time on Saturday afternoon in a series that dates back to the 1982-83 season. Smith's last win against the Beavers came in the semifinals of the 2014 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Tournament when the top-seeded Pioneers defeated fifth-seeded Babson, 64-58. Mandy Castro scored a career high 14 points to knock out the five-time defending conference tournament champions.

The Beavers
Babson (7-4, 3-0 NEWMAC) islooking to snap a two-game losing streak following Tuesday's 59-40 loss at 14th-ranked Tufts. In that game, Giovanna Pickering scored 10 points and sophomore Brenna LeGacy added eight points off the bench for the Beavers, who shot just 31.8 percent in the loss. Senior Linnett Graber (12.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG) is shooting 51.3 percent from the field, while Pickering (12.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.2 APG) ranks second in the NEWMAC in assists. Junior Taylor Russell is averaging 9.9 points and a team-high 7.0 boards for the Green and White, which has a +13.3 rebounding margin in league play. The Beavers average 70.6 points per game and are shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 24.2 percent from 3-point range. Babson has won six NEWMAC titles in the last seven seasons and was picked to finish first in the preseason coaches' poll.

The Pioneers
Smith (4-6, 1-2 NEWMAC) earned their first conference win of the season onWednesday night at Springfield, 79-61. In that game, sophomore Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Guest-Pritchett finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pioneers, who shot a season-high 54.4 percent on the night. Guest-Pritchett (12.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG) is shooting 51 percent from the floor, sophomore Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Preparatory) (9.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG) has reached double figures in scoring in three of the last four games and first-year Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) is contributing 8.0 points and a team-high 3.2 assists. Guest-Pritchett is fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (9.0), while Holland ranks fifth, shooting 32.0 percent from behind the arc. The Pioneers score 64.1 percent per game and are shooting 38.0 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from 3-point range. Smith was picked to finish fifth in the NEWMAC preseason coaches poll.

Next Up
Smith returns home for the first time in 2016 when they host Emerson College for a NEWMAC tilt Tuesday at 7 p.m.

2015-16 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Standings
TeamConferenceOverall
WPI4-012-1
Babson3-07-4
MIT3-17-4
Coast Guard3-16-5
Wheaton2-19-3
Springfield2-17-4
Smith1-24-6
Emerson1-33-7
Wellesley1-33-8
Clark0-42-10
Mount Holyoke0-40-12

 

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