NEWMAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT DIGITAL PROGRAM
2017 NEWMAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Regular Season
February 4, 2017: MIT 83 Smith 70
MIT outscored Smith College, 20-8, in the fourth quarter to help it pull away for an 83-70 win on February 4, 2017. Sophomore forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) finished with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
The Series
Smith leads the all-time series 30-15. These two teams have met twice in the postseason where the Pioneers are 2-0 against the Engineers.
NEW 8 Tournament Semifinal - Feb. 27, 1998 - Smith 73 MIT 67
NEW 6 Tournament First Round - Feb. 21, 1986 - Smith 36 MIT 33
The Engineers
MIT (20-5) had a five game win steak snapped Saturday at the hands of WPI. In the 72-47 loss, MIT was outscored by WPI, 21-12, during the third quarter. Sophomore Taylor V'Dovec powered the Engineers with 12 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Sophomore guard Kara Holinski ranks fifth in the NEWMAC in points per game (14.5) and second in 3-PT percentage (40.8) while V'Dovec shoots 55.4 percent from the field (1st in the conference) an averages 13.8 points per game. V'Dovec leads in the Engineers in rebounds per game (7.1) and senior guard Liana Ilutzi dishes out a team-high 4.7 assists per game. MIT is the third highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 67.7 points per game
.
The Pioneers
Smith (17-8) looks to win their first postseason game for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Pioneers are coming off a 67-66 overtime loss to Emerson this past Saturday. In that game,
Guest-Pritchett paced the Pioneers offense with a game-high 23 points to match a team-high 15 rebounds while sophomore guard Erin Hanley (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prepatory) recorded a double-double with 13 points, 11 boards. Guest Pritchett, who was named NEWMAC Athlete of the Week and to the NEWBA Honor Roll Monday, ranks in the top-5 of the NEWMAC in points per game (15.5), rebounds per game (10.4) and field goal percentage (51.3%). Hanley is scoring 10.3 points per game and is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (50.9%) while sophomore guard
Sydney Koh (Seattle, Wash. /Lakeside) and senior guard
Mandy Castro (San Diego, Calif./Poway) rank in the top-5 of the NEWMAC in 3-PT percentage. Junior guard
Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) is second in assist to turnover ratio (2.2). The Pioneers have the league's second-highest scoring offense, averaging 68.4 points per game.
2017 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, February 22 at higher seed
#5 Smith at #4 MIT - 7 p.m.
#6 Coast Guard at #3 WPI - 7 p.m.
#7 Clark at #2 Springfield - 5:30 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday, February 25 at Babson
Winner #4/5 Seed vs. #1 Babson - 12 p.m.
Winner #3/6 Seed vs. Winner #2/7 Seed - 2:30 p.m.
Championship: Sunday, February 26 at Babson
Semifinal Winners - 12 p.m.
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