Wellesley Basketball Falls to Springfield to Open NEWMAC Play

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior center Lauren O'Connor (Valhalla, N.Y.) scored a game-high 21 points, including her 1,000 career point as the Springfield College women's basketball team opened up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play with a 83-55 win over Wellesley on Wednesday evening.

With the win, the Pride even its record at 6-6, 1-0 in league play, while the Blue drop to 5-3, 0-1 as they played their first game in over a month.

O'Connor, who entered the game with 999 career points, wasted no team as she hit a lay-up just 1:12 into the game. She became the 13th player in program history to hit the career milestone.

Springfield raced out to a 12-2 lead after a fast-break bucket by Cherelle Allen (New Britain, Conn.), forcing a timeout by the visitors.

However, the Pride continued to pour on the pressure as they went on to lead by as much as 25 in the opening stanza, shooting 50% from the floor. The Pride defense forced 16 turnovers in the first half and held the Blue to just 28.6% shooting in the opening frame.

The second half was the same story as Springfield went on to lead by as many as 34.

O'Connor finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and three steals. Rachelle Walker (Lee, Mass.) had a game to remember as well as she poured in a career-best 20 points to go along with a career-high eight assists. She also added four rebounds and four steals. Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds, while Kelly Murphy (Mechanicville, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring with 11 points and four assists.

For Wellesley, Jessica Duff (Milton, Abingdon, U.K.) continued her impressive play as she posted team-bests in points and rebounds with 18 and 14, respectively. Julia Thomas (Concord, Calif.) also notched 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Wellesley finished with 25 turnovers in the game and was held to just 3-of-19 from downtown.

Springfield returns to action on Monday night when it travels to take on nationally-ranked Amherst. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 pm.  Wellesley will take on WPI on Saturday in a 3:00pm NEWMAC game.