WESTFIELD, Mass. - Smith College's
Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) and Westfield State's Lucy Barrett each scored their 1,000th career points, as Smith rallied past Westfield in an overtime barn-burner, 108-100 at the Woodward Center Wednesday night. With the win, the Pioneers improve to 7-3 on the year, while the Owls move to 4-4.
SMITH HIGHLIGHTS
- Bondi netted a career-high 38 for the Pioneers while shooting 19-22 from the foul line and added six assists.
- Senior forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) finished with a career-best 33-point, 28-rebound effort. while Barrett also finished with a career-high 32. The 28 rebounds are a single-game program record.
- Senior forward Stephanie Foukaris (Nicosia, Cyprus/Pascal English School Nicosia) grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds and senior guard Katy McClellan (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area) recorded 20 points and nine boards.
WESTFIELD HIGHLIGHTS
- Barrett posted a career-high 32 points for the Owls.
- Melissa Gray finished with 17 points as the only other Westfield player in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Westfield held a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter and led by as many as 11, but Smith rallied late, grabbing its first lead of the game with 38 seconds left in regulation, on an and-1 three-point play by Katy McClellan (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area) to give the Pioneers a 94-92 lead.
Westfield answered with a three-pointer from Melissa Gray to take the lead back 95-94, and after an Owls steal and a foul, Gray went to the line and made one of two free throws to give Westfield a 96-94 lead.
Bondi was fouled on a drive to the hoop with five seconds left in regulation, and hit both shots to tie the game at 96-all. Barrett laid a runner off the glass as time expired in regulation, but the shot wouldn't go down.
The Owls went ice-cold in the overtime, shooting 1-10 from the floor and making just two of six free throws in the extra session.
Smith took the lead for good, 102-100 with two free throws from Bondi with 3:30 left in overtime. The extra session was a war of attrition as five Westfield State and one Smith player fouled out, and Smith was just 4-9 from the line in overtime as well.
GAME NOTES
- Bondi becomes the 13th player in the Smith basketball history to join the 1,000 point club.
- Tonight's game marks the second time in three years that Smith came away with an OT win at Westfield, as the Pioneers were 111-103 winners in a similar fashion at the Woodward Center in 2016.
- The Pioneers improve to 4-1 in road games this season.
- Smith is now 14-13 all-time against the Owls and has won the last five meetings.
UP NEXT
Smith is idle until December 30 when they host TCNJ for a 2:00 p.m. tip in Northampton.
(Portions of this recap courtesy to Westfield State Athletics)
About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on
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