Luke Whitehouse
@Lwhitehouse12
SPRINGFIELD – Springfield College’s 10-game win streaks came to an end Friday night in the NEWMAC conference semifinals.
In an overtime battle, Babson edged out the Pride 64-59 to advance to the conference finals.
“They did a great job of battling,” Springfield head coach Naomi Graves said. “We played against a team that was shooting the ball pretty well when we weren’t, and we couldn’t finish when we needed to finish.”
Despite finishing the game 15-56 (28.5%), the Pride’s offense looked solid through one quarter. The Pride shot 7-12 in the first, jumping out to a 17-10 lead.
Although the Pride held a two-point lead heading into halftime, Babson found their offensive rhythm. The Beavers shot 17-38 the rest of the game, and controlled the pace.
Despite the Beavers shooting 7-21 from downtown, they made timely shots, helping them jump out to the lead after half. Katelyn Mollica was dynamic, finishing with 17 points and four threes to lead Babson.
Graves attributed one big offensive strategy that gave the Beavers open shots possession after possession:
“They skip passed it and we didn’t have enough ball pressure,” she said. “We knew they were going to do that, but we were stuck in the mud.”
Down four, the Pride began the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run with a key three and a steal from Jaélen Daubon. But the Beavers battled back to take the lead before Springfield tied it up to send the game to overtime.
As a trip to the conference title loomed in the balance, Babson came out ready in the overtime period – outscoring the Pride 13-8.
Springfield still had a chance, with Amanda Leary sinking a deep three-pointer with 10 seconds to go, but it was too little, too late for the Pride.
“Babson came in coming off a really big win at Coast Guard and they know how to win because they’ve gone to the NCAA tournament before,” Graves said.
The offense never fully got going, and Babson made just enough timely stops to snap Springfield’s 10 game winning streak.
“I thought there were times when we looked great,” Graves said. “We [usually] distribute the ball better than we did today.”
Daubon led the Pride with 17 points, while Angela Czeremcha finished with a team-high 18 rebounds.
Springfield moves 22-5 on the season with the loss, but is in a good position to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, with the selection show slated for Monday afternoon.
Once the Pride fell behind to the Beavers, it was difficult for them to take the game back over – something Graves acknowledged as something they will need to work on.
“I think we have to be able to handle things when it’s hard and make better decisions and trust in each other when it’s hard,” she said.