SOUTH HADLEY, MASS. – Led by 22 points off the bench from junior forward
Emma Seymour (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt), the Smith College basketball team defeated Mount Holyoke College, 94-17 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday. The Pioneers improve to 19-5 overall and 12-3 in the conference, while the Lyons fall to 0-23 overall and 0-15 in NEWMAC play.
Along with 22 points from Seymour, she also tallied a game-high 11 rebounds to complete the games only double-double. Leading the starting unit was the NEWMAC points leader
Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) with 16 to go along with six rebounds. Junior guard
Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) also reached double-figures with 10 points.
For the Lyons, first year guard Raquel Fitzpatrick led the squad with six points and a pair of rebounds. Junior guard Leah Hodges contributed four points, while classmate Zahkeyah Allen finished with three. First year forward GraceAnne Woods was a force on defense, leading the game with two blocks.
After eight quick points in the paint from Smith in the first two minutes of the first, the Lyons got on the board with a free throw from Allen to make it, 8-1. The next possession, Bondi knocked down a long-ball that ignited a 13-0 run for the Pioneers. The Lyons stopped the streak, scoring four of the next six points, but Smith finished the quarter up, 25-5. Mount Holyoke scored the first points of the second quarter with a pair of free throws from Woods, but the Pioneers exploded for 19 consecutive points to head into the break with a 46-9 advantage.
Smith did not let up in the second half as Bondi connected on five straight points, leading to an 11-0 run. MHC answered with a run of their own as three different players scored three of the next five baskets to cut the deficit to 61-15. The Pioneers used three consecutive treys to carry momentum into the fourth up 78-15. Smith continued to keep up the pressure in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lyons 16-2 to cement a 94-17 victory.
Smith closes out the regular season on Saturday, February 17 at home against Clark University. The Pioneers will look to finish 2017-18 with an undefeated home record.
(Recap Courtesy to MHC Athletics)
