Box Score BOSTON, Mass. - The Smith College basketball team earned a crucial New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) win Saturday afternoon when they swept the season series against Emerson, 56-49. 

The Pioneers are now 9-14 overall and rise to 5-9 in the NEWMAC, while the Lions drop to 10-13 overall, and 5-9 in conference play. 

The game opened with a layup and jumper by Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Preparatory) to give Smith the early lead. Emerson responded with a 3 pointer by Elizabeth Horan to put the Lions on the board. Both teams traded points, keeping the score within one or two. With 30 seconds left in the opening quarter, Charlie Boyle made a layup to give the Lions the first lead of the game, 12-10. 

The second quarter followed a similar flow, with the Pioneers tying it up only 10 seconds in the second quarter thanks to two made free throws by senior forward Tia Karapoulios (Cypress, Calif./Cypress). Smith was then able to retake the lead, but with the Lions right behind them. Both teams entered halftime with the score at 28-23, Pioneers. 

The second half saw the Lions quickly tie the score at 28-28, thanks agains to a 3-pointer from Horan, followed by a jumper from Kelsey Johnson. But again, Smith was able to quickly retake the lead and pulled ahead by six going into the fourth quarter, 40-34. 

Despite the Lions best effort, they were unable to retake the lead, as the Pioneers closed it out 56-49. 

Stat leaders for Smith include first-year forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, GA/The Lawrenceville School) with 11 points and eight rebounds. Right behind her was Karapoulios with 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, while sophomore forward Samantha Alakai (Pukalani, Hawaii/Punahou School) played a great defensive game with eight total rebounds.

Leading for the Lions was Maya Savino and Boyle with 10 points each and a combined seven rebounds. Leading in rebounds was Sierra Ducey with nine total to go along with two blocked shots and six points. Kelsey Johnson added six points and three blocked shots.

Next up for  Smith is a road game against Wellesley College on February 17th at 7 p.m. The Lions return to action on the 17th as well when they travel across the river to MIT for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
 
(Portions of this recap courtesy Emerson Athletics)