Wellesley Basketball Drops NEWMAC Contest at Springfield, 73-56

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Four student-athletes scored in double figures to help Springfield College earn a 73-56 NEWMAC win over Wellesley College basketball on Saturday at Blake Arena.

Junior forward Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) put up 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Pride (13-4 Overall, 2-1 NEWMAC). First year Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) added 15 points, while Kassidy Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) and Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) each had 10 points off the bench.

Senior Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) and first year Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) paced the Blue with 13 points apiece. Barrow added four boards and a pair of steals while junior Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.) and sophomore Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) matched for team-high honors with five rebounds each. Hofer added a team-best four assists to go along with eight points. 

Wellesley jumped to an early 6-2 lead in the contest but a 13-0 first quarter run tipped the game in Springfield's favor midway through the opening frame. The Pride would take a 15-6 advantage at the 3:29 mark only to see Wellesley storm back to cut the difference to 17-16 when Mirella Funari (Phoenix, Ariz.) knocked down a transition jumper at 1:25. Springfield closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 24-16 lead into the second.

Springfield opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run, capped by a triple from Lucas at 6:27, to extend the lead to 33-19. The Pride would outscore the Blue, 20-11, in the second stanza to take a 44-27 lead into the break. Following halftime, Springfield outscored Wellesley, 19-8, in the third quarter to put the contest out of reach, taking a 63-35 lead into the fourth quarter. The Blue regained some momentum in the fourth quarter, outsourcing the Pride 21-10, before dropping the 73-56 final.

Wellesley and Springfield both travel for NEWMAC contests on Wednesday, January 24. The Blue take on MIT at 8:00 PM and the Pride match-up with Smith at 7:00 PM.