Basketball Falls 69-37 at MIT on Friday Night

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- MIT senior Kylie Gallagher (Upton, Mass.) scores 14 points to lead the Engineers to a 69-37 win over Wellesley.

The Blue drop to 3-12 as a team and 1-4 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. MIT improves to 8-7 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

Gallagher also added seven rebounds and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Classmate Christa Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) was also in double-figures with 13 points. Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, Ill.) added nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Sophomore Anna Greenthal (Orinda, Calif.) put up 11 points and was solid defensively with three steals. First year guard Allison Koziarz (New Rochelle, N.Y.) scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting for the Blue. After a career high 15 points on Wednesday, Taylor Hirn (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) added six points and a pair of assists.

The Blue took an early 4-2 lead after Sairah O'Brien-Forde (Binghamton, N.Y.) converted on a layup at the 8:20 mark. A pair of Antonakakis free throws put MIT ahead 12-6, but the Blue would respond with a Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.)  jumper to cut the lead back to four. MIT then outscored the Blue 10-4 to close out the quarter and led by double-digits. Koziarz started out the second by knocking down a three-pointer on the team's first possession. After trailing 27-22 midway through the period, MIT used a 14-0 run and expanded its lead to 19. Wellesley would score the final four points of the half and trailed 41-26 heading into the locker room.

Down 18 early in the second half, Greenthal tried to keep the Blue in it by drilling a shot from downtown. The Engineers would quickly respond with a three-pointer made by Angie Choi (Cypress, Calif.) at the 6:07 point. Both teams played tough defense in the third with MIT winning the quarter just 11-6. The Blue continued to struggle on offense in the fourth with just two field goals made. MIT eventually put the game away and outscored the Blue 17-5 down the stretch and came away with the 69-37 victory.

Up next, the Blue host WPI on Wednesday, February 2 starting at 7:00 PM. MIT will play an out of conference game with Connecticut College on Monday, January 31 in New London at 7:00 PM.