GAME INFORMATION: MIT 83 Smith 70
RECORDS: MIT (17-4, 10-2) Smith (14-7, 6-6)
LOCATION: Cambridge, Mass.
SMITH STARTERS: Guest-Pritchett (F), Marquez (G), Hanley (G), Alakai (F), Castro (G)
MIT STARTERS: Ngan (G), Yuan (G), Ilutzi (G), V'Dovec (F), Holinski (F)
MIT outscored Smith College, 20-8, in the fourth quarter to help it pull away for an 83-70 win in Saturday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) basketball game.
SMITH HIGHLIGHTS
- 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.
- Hanley produced 22 points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers.
- Junior forward Samantha Alakai (Pukalani, Hawaii/Punahou School) dished out a team-best four assists.
MIT HIGHLIGHTS
- The Engineers were led by sophomore Taylor V'Dovec who had 22 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
- Holinski finished with 19 points while Yuan registered 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
- Ilutzi tallied 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals
HOW IT HAPPENED
MIT built an 18-9 advantage during the first nine minutes of the game but Smith quickly closed the gap to 19-16 courtesy of a layup by sophomore guard Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) at the buzzer.
The second quarter featured a series of runs that moved the score to 34-26 after senior LianaIlutzi's three-pointer at the 2:43 mark. The Pioneers replied with nine unanswered points, going ahead on a layup by sophomore guard Erin Hanley (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prepatory) with 52 seconds left. Baskets by junior Lindsay Westlake and sophomore Kara Holinski helped MIT go back in front, 38-35, at the intermission.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair as there were eight lead changes and three ties. A pair of layups from junior forward Emma Seymour (Seattle, Wash. /Roosevelt) gave Smith a 62-59 edge with 1:39 on the clock. However, sophomores Kristen Ngan and Dolly Yuan both connected on their free throws during the last 47 seconds to put the Engineers ahead for good.
In the fourth quarter MIT put together an 18-1 run that helped it pull away for the win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Pioneers had the upper hand in field goal percentage as they shot 49.2 percent (29-59) compared to the Engineers' total of 47 percent (31-66). The visitors also led the way in points in the paint with a 44-28 margin. MIT, meanwhile, generated advantages in rebounds (37-30), points off turnovers (17-4), and second-chance points (16-9).
UP NEXT
Smith will host Wellesley College Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
