The Springfield College women’s basketball team pulled away from WPI in the second half on Saturday, Jan. 24, in Blake Arena, not through major strategic adjustments, but with connectedness and patience.
Behind balanced scoring and strong defensive efforts, the Pride earned a 70-55 NEWMAC win, extending their conference record to 2-1 and 11-6 overall, while also continuing their recent surge of momentum.
From the opening tip, sophomore captain Madison Lopez set the tone. She opened the scoring with a quick 5-0 run, connecting once inside and again from beyond the arc. Lopez dominated in the early minutes and never looked back, following her start with a turnover and an assist to make an impact on both ends of the floor.
“Madi came off huge today because they played off of her. She was 100 percent,” Springfield head coach Naomi Graves said. “Not many people can walk onto the court, take five shots, and make five shots.”
WPI didn’t back down immediately. The two teams traded baskets throughout the opening quarter, alternating leads in what was a very exciting first frame. A crucial three-point play from Amanda Leary helped Springfield carry a six-point lead as they advanced into halftime.
In the locker room, Graves focused not on altering the playbook but rather on emphasizing the message behind recent practices: trust, unity, and accountability.
“The one adjustment I made was just connectedness,” said Graves. “Stay connected to each other. At this point, I didn’t want to make any adjustments because I thought we were doing a really good job on man.”
After holding the Engineers to only five points in the second quarter, the Pride returned to the court ready to close things out and secure the win, with a second-half performance that reflected both execution and growth.
“We’ve been working on connection and togetherness,” Lopez said. “At practice this week, we had a culture check-in and made pledges to each other, so we all know where we are, where we stand, and what our role is.”
For this Springfield team, the focus on culture is just as important, if not more, than any practice drill.
“Every so often, you have to check in on your culture,” Graves said. “We needed to realign our goals again and think about where we started, how we want to do it, and just fertilize our culture right now.”
Unlike many teams with one or two dominant scorers, the Pride’s stat sheet continues to reflect their versatility, where every game is an opportunity for a new player to step up and lead. This time, it was Leary with 18 and Natalie Lucas chipping in 15 points.
That balance will be key as Springfield finishes off the regular season and moves to tournament play.
“The reason we’re winning is that we don’t have one star,” Graves said. “We have different people stepping up every game. That’s huge for us.”
Springfield looks to carry its momentum on the road as it faces Clark on Wednesday, Jan. 28, with a 7 p.m. tipoff.