CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 6 seeded MIT outscored No. 7 seed WPI, 21-2, in the third quarter en route to a 60-33 victory in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Women's Basketball Championship on Friday night. Senior
Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, Ill.) led all players with 15 points while playing 14 minutes for MIT as sophomore Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, Conn.) paced WPI with 11 points.
THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 60, WPI 33
- Records: MIT (13-14 Overall); WPI (13-14 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- MIT jumped out to a 7-0 lead but a jumper by senior Caitlyn Dasaro (Fairfield, Vt.) sparked a 17-4 run by WPI.
- MIT chipped away at the deficit in the second quarter, as a bucket by senior Sarah Berman (York, Pa.) brought the hosts within 23-22 entering halftime.
- A layup and then a free throw by Nwogu put MIT in front at the 7:44 mark of the third quarter.
- Giansiracusa's jumper tied the game at 25, however, a layup by Nwogu ignited a string of 18 consecutive points which resulted in a 43-25 advantage at the end of the quarter.
- MIT continued to control the action in the fourth quarter as it outscored WPI, 17-8.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Berman finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals while senior Elise Harvey (Wayland, Mass.) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and added two blocks.
- Junior Alice Hall (Ambler, Pa.) corralled nine rebounds as first-year Deana Prasad (Cary, N.C.) posted eight points and four steals.
- Junior Briana Lebrun (Hartford, Conn.) bolstered MIT's offense with eight points.
- Sophomores Emmy Allyn (Rutland, Mass.) and Ava Hyams (Kearny, N.J.) both notched seven points for WPI as Hyams added seven rebounds.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will travel to No. 9/9 Smith College for the NEWMAC Championship on Sunday, March 2 at 1:00 PM.
- The Engineers will be making their fourth appearance in the title game and their first since 2020.
- MIT won the conference crown in 2018 and 2019 but fell to Smith the following year.
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