NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Smith College basketball team saw its 11-game win streak come to an end as Springfield College came away with a 48-46 win in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal Thursday evening at Ainsworth Gymnasium.

Smith, which is fifth in the latest NCAA regional rankings, drops to 21-6 on the year and must wait to see if it receives an at-large bid to the Division III championship when the selections are announced on Monday. Springfield improves to 18-9 on the year and will host MIT in the NEWMAC Championship game on Saturday.

SMITH HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) led the Pioneers with her 13th double-double of the year of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• Senior forward Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) finished with 15 points, three assists, and three boards.
• First-year Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire) added eight points and hauled in four rebounds off the bench.

SPRINGFIELD HIGHLIGHTS

• Alex Goslin netted a team-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
• Taylor Hall grabbed a team-high nine boards and Chelsea McCallister chipped in with nine points and four rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sides traded baskets to start the contest, before Gracie Restituyo came up with a block and Jacques went the other way and finished a basket in transition to give the Pride a 6-3 advantage. From there, Smith would take a 9-8 advantage on a bucket from Guest-Pritchett, before the maroon and white answered with an 8-0 run, capped by a gritty finish from Restituyo to give Springfield College a 16-9 lead with 1:53 on the clock. After a free throw from Guest-Pritchett, Jacques hit a mid-range jumper to give the visitors an 18-10 lead after one. 

Smith opened the second half on a 7-0 run to pull the Pioneers to within one, before McAllister ended the run with a jumper from the top of the paint, making it 20-17, Pride, with 6:23 to play in the first half. From there, Smith continued with it's impressive play on the offensive end of the floor, as a jumper from Dashelle Gleissner (Los Angeles, Calif./Serra) forced a timeout from Springfield College, trailing 27-22 with 1:44 on the clock. As time expired, McAllister pulled up from just over half court and drained a deep three to make it 27-25, Smith, at the break.

Smith regained a five-point lead when Bondi found an open Ellie Jo Whalen for an wide-open basket, before Carr and McAllister converted back-to-back baskets to pull the Pride back even at 32 apiece. Grace Dzindolet would hit two free throws to give the Pride a 34-32 advantage at the 4:16 mark, before the Pioneers cut it to within one with 45 seconds to play in the frame on a free throw from Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire), resulting in a 34-33 score after three quarters. 

The two sides exchanged four lead changes in the first 2:19 of the fourth quarter, before two free-throws from Goslin at the 5:08 mark gave the Pride a 40-38 advantage. From there, Jacques would convert a lay-up in transition to give the Pride a four-point lead, but Bondi would drill back-to-back triples to even the score at 44 apiece with 2:55 to play. Taylor Hall then hit two free throws to make it 46-44, Springfield College, with 1:50 remaining. From there, Bondi would tie it at 46 with a jumper, before the senior fouled Goslin on a loose-ball scramble with six seconds remaining, allowing Goslin to hit the go-ahead free throw to make it 47-46, before Dzindolet caused a turnover and got fouled, finishing off the game from the charity stripe.

Smith was held to 17-of-48 (35.4%) from the field and just 4-of-19 (21.1%) from beyond the arc. Springfield shot 32.7% (17-of-52) from the field and 40% from long distance. The Pioneers owned a 37-26 advantage on the glass.

GAME NOTES

• Smith drops to 14-33 all-time against the Pride.
• Springfield improves to 2-0 against the Pioneers in the postseason. 
• Smith was playing in their third-consecutive NEWMAC Tournament semifinal.

(Portions of this recap courtesy to Springfield Athletics)

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is an 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 Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.