Babson's Hot Shooting Downs Blue Basketball, 71-49

WELLESLEY, Mass. — Babson College senior Erin Young (Westwood, Mass.) came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points, as the visiting Beavers defeated Wellesley College basketball, 71-49, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

With the win, Babson jumps to 15-5 overall and maintains its hold on first place in the NEWMAC standings with an 11-1 conference record. The Blue drop to 6-14 overall and 3-9 in NEWMAC play. 

Young knocked down 3-of-4 three-pointers in the first half for the Beavers, who have now won nine straight contests. Young was joined in double figures by junior Kirsten Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) and sophomore Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.), as each player totaled 13 points in the game. Pickering also added a game-high four assists. Sophomore Jennifer Narlee (Medfield, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end of the floor. 

For Wellesley, senior Morgyne Weaver (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored a game-high 16 points. Junior Chelsi Scott (Portland, Mich.) added 10 points, while collecting a team-high eight rebounds for the Blue. Sophomore Ailis Hanley (Cranston, R.I.) and first year guard Kayala Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) each scored seven points, with Jang also contributing three steals and five rebounds. 

Ferola was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the first half, combining with Young to help the Beavers shoot 60 percent from three-point range. Babson shot 55 percent from the field in the opening half, using a 14-0 run to take a 24-7 advantage at 7:52 when Pickering knocked down layups on back-to-back possessions. Pickering totaled all 13 of her points in the opening session to lead Babson to a commanding 39-19 halftime advantage.

The Blue briefly cut the deficit down to 16 points in the opening minutes of the second when Scott knocked down a layup to make the score 46-30 at 14:51. However, Babson responded with a Hannah Metcalf (Middlebury, Conn.) three-pointer on their next possession to jump back ahead by 19, at 49-30. 

The Beavers would eventually re-build their 20-point lead at 7:11 of the second when Megan Otto (Westwood, Mass.) hit a layup to put Babson up by 21 at 59-38. Babson would take their largest lead at 3:04 when Ferola put the visitors up by 23, at 69-46.  

Wellesley will be idle this weekend, returning to action next Wednesday when the Blue travel to Clark for a 5:00 PM tip-off. Babson will host Coast Guard on Saturday at 1:00 PM.