Wellesley Basketball Drops Matchup with Springfield 73-18

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Three starters score in double-figures for Springfield in a 73-18 win over Wellesley on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue drop the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup and fall to 1-2 in the conference and 3-10 overall. Springfield improves to 16-0 overall 2-0 in the conference. 

Graduate student Sidney Wentland (Elk River, Minn.) scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Senior Grace Dzindolet (Holliston, Mass.) went 3-of-3 from downtown and tallied 11 points. Classmate Stephanie Lyons (Boston, Mass.) was just behind with 10 points and three assists.

Sophomore Anna Greenthal (Orinda, Calif.) led the Blue with nine points and six boards. Taylor Hirn (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) went 2-of-4 from the floor totaling four points and adding three rebounds. Off the bench, first year Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.) grabbed four rebounds and added three points.

The Blue were the first to strike in the contest, forcing two turnovers and getting a layup by Hirn. With the game all square at 4-4 at the 6:48 mark, Dzindolet knocked down a three ball but Hirn would answer again on the following possession with a bucket. Springfield ended the first on 13-0 run and took a 20-6 lead. In the beginning of the second, Greenthal hit a three-pointer to cut the lead back to 13. The Pride again went on a spurt and a Kayla Madden (Ashland, Mass.) jumpshot gave the team a 28-9 lead with 6:03 remaining in the half. The Blue struggled to find offense and went into the locker room down 44-13.

Springfield came out scorching in the third quarter, going on a 15-0 run that spanned over eight minutes. Greenthal would end the run, knocking down a three at the 1:44 mark. After a layup by Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.), Windross scored her first bucket for the Blue. Wellesley held Springfield to just 12 points in the fourth quarter, but fell to the Pride by a final score of 73-18.

Springfield shot 51.8% as a team and over 47% from downtown. The Blue were outrebounded 50-29 but assisted on four of its seven made field goals.

Wellesley returns home on Wednesday, January 26 to host Emerson at 7:00 PM. Springfield will hit the road on the same night to face MIT with tip-off at 6:00 PM.