CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 4 seeded MIT women's basketball team saw its season come to an end following a 64-50 loss to No. 5 seed Springfield College in the first round of the NEWMAC Championship on Wednesday night.
Riley O'Sullivan led all players with 15 rebounds and paced the Engineers with 14 points while Amanda Leary tallied 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists for the Pride.
THE BASICS:
- Score: Springfield 64, MIT 50
- Records: MIT (14-12 Overall); Springfield (16-10 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Springfield raced out to a 17-4 lead, but MIT cut into the deficit courtesy of a Ruth Lanouette jumper and a layup by Brianna Lebrun during the final 1:32 of the first quarter.
- The Engineers carried the momentum into the second stanza as two free throws from Lanouette brought the hosts with 25-22 midway through the period. Claire Finney created some breathing room for the Pride as she produced five straight points. MIT ended its scoring drought with 2:23 remaining on two free throws by April Chan, making the score 30-24 at halftime.
- Springfield quickly reestablished its double-digit lead following a Claire Hess layup and a Leary three pointer after 2:32 elapsed. Sparked by O'Sullivan's putback during the Engineers' next possession, MIT rattled off seven unanswered points to come within 35-31 at the 5:22 mark. Leary responded with a three pointer, setting off an 11-3 run during the second half of the quarter.
- The Pride maintained a comfortable cushion throughout the fourth quarter, but layups from Mary Lobon and Lanouette narrowed the gap to 56-48 with 3:07 left to play. Springfield went on to outscore MIT, 8-2, down the stretch as it had a 6-of-6 performance at the free throw line.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Lanouette finished with 13 points and four steals while Lobon posted 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
- Hess recorded 15 points and two steals as Finney totaled 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
- MIT is now 3-2 all-time against Springfield in the NEWMAC Tournament as it had won the three previous meetings, including the 2019 NEWMAC Championship.
- The Pride's only other win against the Engineers in the tournament came during the first round in 2016.
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