BABSON PARK, Mass. - In a battle of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball unbeatens, the Smith College basketball team upended Babson College, 72-63, Saturday afternoon in Staake Gymnasium. 

Smith, who entered the game ranked 23 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), ended Babson's 20 game NEWMAC regular season win streak. The Pioneers add another victory to the win column and sit at 19-2 overall and 8-0 in the conference. The Beavers fall to 15-6, 6-1.

How it Happened
The first quarter featured three tie scores in the first five minutes and four lead changes in the next five. With seconds to go in the first, Babson hit a jumper to pull the Beavers to within one point (18-17) before senior Dashelle Gleissner (Los Angeles, Calif./Serra) drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to put the visitors up 21-17 after one quarter.

The Pioneers opened the second quarter with an 11-point run, including five points from Yamada and four from first-year Jane Loo (Saratoga, CA/Saratoga) to open up a 32-17 margin. Babson hit back-to-back buckets to slice the deficit to 11, but the visitors answered with seven straight points, four from senior Elle Jo Whalen (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville) and three from Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire), as the lead expanded to 18 points with 2:49 remaining.

The Beavers outscored the Pioneers 9-2 in the final two and a half minutes to pull back to within 11 points at the intermission, 41-30. The Pioneers built their first-half lead by shooting 58.6 percent from the floor. 

Both teams went scoreless the first three minutes of the third quarter before Babson whittled the margin down to seven points. The Pioneers finally scored their first points of the quarter on a layup by Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin) nearly five minutes in. The visitors went on a six-point run to push the margin back up to 13 points, and team traded free throws to end the frame with the Pioneers up, 54-41.

The Beavers went on an 11-4 surge early in the fourth quarter to pull to within six points (60-54) with five minutes remaining. Yamada drained a three-pointer for the Pioneers before Babson answered with a traditional three-point play by Smith with 2:27 to play. The teams traded a pair of baskets over the next minute before Yamada drained a key three-pointer with 56 seconds on the clock to push the Pioneer lead back up to nine at 70-61, and Babson couldn't recover.
 

Inside the Numbers

• Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin) finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Pioneers
• Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire) recorded a double-double of 17 points (6-of-11 FG) and a game-high 10 rebounds
• Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) chipped in with 14 points off the bench, canning 4-of-7 from three-point range.
• Smith shot 50 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from long range
• Babson converted 42.2 percent from the field and was hed to just 22.2 percent from beyond the arc
• The Pioneers held a 35-31 margin on the boards

Up Next
Smith visits Emerson on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. tipoff.

(Portion of this recap courtesy to Babson 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 Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.