NORTHAMPTON - Trailing by as many as 14 midway through the second quarter, the Smith College basketball team mounted a comeback for the ages in a thrilling 80-67 win over Babson College in a key New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) battle Saturday afternoon at Ainsworth Gymnasium. 

In a matchup of two nationally ranked teams, the fifth-ranked Pioneers have won 16-straight and improve to 22-1 overall and 8-0 in the NEWMAC. No. 14 Babson dropped to 19-4 on the year with a 6-2 mark in conference play. 

How it Happened

• Samantha Smith and Megan Bauman combined for 17 of Babson's first quarter points as the Beavers held a comfortable 24-13 lead after the opening stanza
• Babson pulled ahead by 14 (33-19) with 4:13 left in the second quarter, but Smith responded with a 7-0 run as Amelia Clairmont's (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton School) trey to pull within 33-26 forced a timeout by the visitors with 1:36 on the clock
• A jumper by Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) as time ran out got the home team within seven at halftime, 38-31
• Smith scored on six of their first eight possessions of the third to make it 44-43 on a Clairmont three-pointer at the 5:28 mark
• Babson was able to extend its lead to 51-47 until a key 10-0 run by Smith helped them to its largest lead of the game, 57-51
• Carrying a 57-55 edge into the fourth, the Pioneers scored the first eight points of the quarter and would hold a comfortable lead throughout the period
• Bauman's layup with 1:37 remaining in the quarter pulled Babson to within six, 72-66, but Smith knocked down 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to clinch the cruciual 80-67win

By the Numbers

• Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day) scored a career-high 28 points with 15 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year
• Amelia Clairmont (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton School) finished with 17 points, while Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin) added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists
• Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) poured in 14 points off the bench
• Smith owned advantages in rebounds (37-28), points in the paint (34-32) and bench points (14-12)
• The Pioneers shot 43.6% (24-of-55) from the field, 35.3% (6-of-17) from three-point range and 72.2% (26-of-36) from the free throw line
• Babson shot 47.3% (26-of-55) from the floor, 38.5% (5-of-13) from long distance and 55.6% (10-of-18) from the free throw line 

Up Next
Smith hosts Emerson on Wednesday 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.