Babson took an 11-3 advantage in the opening minutes of the
game, highlighted by two consecutive jumpers from Kathleen
King (Framingham, Mass.). Wellesley answered with a trey
from Malia Maier (Torrance, Calif.), but the
visitors followed with eight straight points for a 19-6 lead at the
10:40 mark. The Blue cut the lead to seven with a three-pointer
from Robyn Burleson (Seattle, Wash) and layups
from Becca Kimball (Weston, Mass.) and
Judine St. Gerard (Milton, Mass.). But Babson used
a late surge, including 10 points from Sarah
Collins (Weymouth, Mass.) and solid freethrow shooting
from Wurdeman for a 33-22 halftime lead.
Wellesley opened the second half with layups from
Ashleigh Sargent (Bedford, Mass.) and Maier to cut
the Babson lead to 32-26. The Beavers responded with six of their
own, including two of Wurdeman's 12 second-half points, to push the
lead back to a dozen at the 17:30 mark. After trading baskets,
Babson used a putback from Damisi Adewumi (Bronx,
N.Y.) and two free throws from King to extend its lead to 44-28
with 14:30 left. The Beavers maintained pressure throughout the
period, stretching its lead to 50-30 on yet another Wurdeman
putback with 12 minutes remaining before coasting to a 72-46
win.
Wurdeman led all players with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while
King added 13 points and nine rebounds for Babson. Collins and
Adewumi tallied 12 points each.
For Wellesley, Kimball tallied 17 points to lead the Blue, while
Maier added nine points and eight steals. KD
Stearns (Eustis, Fla.) chipped in six points and five
boards.
Babson returns to action on Saturday, January 16, at 2pm, when
they host the Coast Guard Academy. Wellesley will travel to
Worcester on Saturday for a 3pm game at WPI.