NORTHAMPTON - An explosive third quarter powered the Smith College basketball team to a 64-53 win over MIT in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener Saturday afternoon in Ainsworth Gymnasium. 

The Pioneers, ranked No. 8 in the latest D3Hoops.com and WBCA Top 25 Poll, have won eight-straight and improve to 14-1 on the year and 1-0 in the NEWMAC. The Engineers are now 6-8 overall and 0-1 in conference action. 

Game Highlights

• Trailing 7-3, Smith used a 10-3 run capped off by a Jane Loo (Saratoga, CA/Saratoga) three to make it 13-10 in favor of the Pioneers with 1:29 to go. A layup by Olivia Joseph as time expired brought the Engineers to within one, 13-12, at the end of the first
• A back and forth second period resulted in five lead changes and four ties as neither team could gain control. A 6-0 run to end the quarter allowed MIT to go into halftime up 29-5.
• Finding themselves in a seven point hole, 34-27, Smith outscored MIT 21-5 in the final 8:10 to hold a 48-39 edge at the end of the third. During that stretch, Ruffner scored 14 points.
• MIT would get as close as five but the Pioneers went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the victory

By the Numbers

• Ruffner scored a season-high 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with three rebounds and two steals
• Amelia Clairmont (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton School) poured in 16 points with four boards
• Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day) finished with nine points and seven rebounds
• The Pioneers shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50) from the floor, 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from behind the arc, and 63.0 percent (17-of-27) at the charity stripe
• MIT shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor, 40.0 percent (4-of-10) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the free throw line

Up Next 
Smith hits the road for a conference game at WPI on Wednesday, February 18 at 7:00pm. 

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.