Smith Upends Wellesley Basketball, 56-51

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Wellesley College basketball team suffered a 56-51 road loss at the hands of NEWMAC-rival Smith on Saturday. The Pioneers' Paulina Solis scored seven of her game-high 14 points in the final 34.6 seconds as the Smith held off league-leading Wellesley in a key New England Women's and Men's Athletic (NEWMAC) tilt inside Ainsworth Gym on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Smith evened out at 10-10 on the year and improved to 10-5 in conference action as Wellesley, who is currently tied with Coast Guard atop the league standings, moves to 14-4 on the year and 11-3 in NEWMAC action.

Down 45-43 with just under four minutes left in the second half, Rosa Drummond, used her third three-pointer of the game to give the Pioneers the lead for good. Solis later drilled a triple with 34.6 showing on the scoreboard to put Smith up 52-47. After bucket by Leslie Leong, Solis went to the line twice and sank all four of her free throws to extend the lead to seven. Wellesley's Katie Shulenberger had the final say with a pair of freebies with 3.1 left.

Drummond scored 12 points and was 3-for-4 beyond the arc. Her three treys now give her 139 career three-pointers to take over the top spot in the record book. Her first triple evened the game at 7-7 while her record-breaking three-pointer snapped a 29-29 stalemate early in the second half.

Sydney Parkmond added 10 points and hauled in eight rebounds and Lauren Weston came off the bench to score nine points and corral seven boards for the Pioneers. 

Leong paced the Blue with 12 points, nine rebounds, and three steals, while Morgyne Weaver tacked on 10 points for the guests. Shulenberger chipped in with eight points and a pair of steals

Wellesley marched out to a 5-0 lead before Parkmond drained a pair of free throws to get the hosts on the board and begin a Smith 7-2 run. Weston capitalized on a three-point play midway through the opening frame to ignite a 7-0 run as the Pioneers grabbed the 16-9 lead with 7:45 remaining in the opening half.

Wellesley chipped away at its deficit and eventually pulled within one courtesy of a Leong layup at 1:24. Alyssa Barrett sank three free throws in the final 1:07 as the Pioneers went into the locker room with the 25-21 advantage.

Weaver tied the game up twice in the first 3:20 of the second half with a jumper (27-27) and a layup (29-29) for the guests. After Drummond hit a three with 16:14 to go, the Pioneers held a pair of five point advantages before the Blue tied it up at 38-38 with 9:31 left.

Neither team could get in front by more than two until Drummond's go-ahead three-pointer, coupled with a three-point play, gave the Pioneers the 49-45 lead with 2:31 left.

Both teams continue their NEWMAC slates on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. as Smith travels to WPI and Wellesley hits the road for MIT.