By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Springfield College women’s basketball lost a close NEWMAC conference game to Babson in Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon, as a spirited comeback attempt fell just short.
The Pride were down by as many as 16 points in the first half, with turnovers (16 over the course of the game) playing a key role in their slow start. The first quarter was especially problematic for Springfield, as the Beavers outscored them 22-9 in the opening frame.
At halftime, Springfield was only facing a nine-point deficit thanks to a surge in the late stages of the second quarter. That momentum carried over in a big way into the second half, when the Pride knocked another four points off their deficit, entering the fourth quarter down just five points.
The Pride continued their march back throughout most of the frame, at one point taking a one-point lead. However, Springfield’s execution in the closing minutes of the game proved to be problematic.
With just over three minutes to go, the Pride found themselves down just one point, but committed a turnover off of an inbound pass. This led to a 3-pointer by Babson senior guard Katelyn Mollica, pushing the Beavers lead back up to four.
Springfield junior guard Amanda Leary made a three of her own with a bit more than 1:30 left in the game to cut Babson’s lead back to one, and the Pride got a critical stop on the next possession.
But after a miss by senior forward Angie Czeremcha in traffic was rebounded by the Beavers, Babson sophomore guard Samantha Reale converted on a layup to bump her team’s lead back up to three with 45 seconds left in the game.
On Springfield’s next possession, Leary was fouled and went one for two at the line. At this point, Springfield decided to start fouling, and Babson pushed its lead to 56-52.
Leary attempted a deep three in the closing seconds that was unsuccessful, and after another Springfield foul, Babson tacked on two more points via free throws. The teams exchanged free throws the rest of the way, with Babson ultimately closing out the narrow victory.
The fact that the Pride fell behind early against a quality opponent simply proved to be too much to overcome.
“I think we lost the game in the first quarter,” Springfield head coach Naomi Graves said. “We spotted them too many points early, and we ended up coming back and getting a lead, but that takes a lot of energy.”
In terms of late-game execution, Graves believes the Pride weren’t always getting good looks. She stressed the importance of finding quality shots in the closing stages of games and making sure to play within themselves.
“In the last five minutes of the game, we were up by one,” Graves said. “We shouldn’t have been in a rush at that point.”
Sophomore guard Kassidy Carrano was a key figure in the Pride’s comeback, finishing the game with 16 points on 54.5 percent shooting. However, Carrano’s Babson counterparts in the backcourt, Reale and Mollica, were similarly effective for the Beavers.
Reale tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Mollica added 12 points and five rebounds. As a team, the Beavers shot 42 percent from the field, while the Pride registered a 37.7 percent clip.
The Pride moved to 13-10 on the season with the loss, while the Beavers improved to 14-9 with their critical NEWMAC victory. The Beavers jump to third in the NEWMAC standings, while the Pride sit in fifth place with the conference tournament set to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Springfield will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when they travel to Worcester, Mass., to face Clark at 7 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)