With the win, the Pride is now 5-8 overall, and 3-3 in NEWMAC
play. Wellesley falls to 3-8 overall, and 1-5 in the
conference.
Biondolillo, a freshman guard from Levittown, N.Y., scored eight
of her 16 points in the first half, including two 3-pointers which
helped keep Springfield in the game at that point. Wellesley had
led by as many as 13 points a little beyond the midway mark of that
half, but ultimately settled for a three-point lead (32-29) at the
intermission.
Also scoring in double figures for Springfield were sophomore
forward Kelly Slattery (Somers, CT) with 13 points (and 6
rebounds), and junior center Amelia Sapowsky (Ware, MA) with 11
points (and 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks).
Sophomore guard Kelly Murphy (Mechanicville, NY) also contributed
with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Wellesley was led by freshman Malia Maier (Torrance, CA) with 11
points, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Scoring 9 points was
senior Katie Martore (Great Falls, VA). Right behind her were
freshman Becca Kimball (Weston, MA) and sophomore KD Stearns
(Eustis, FL) with 8 points apiece. Kimball added 5 rebounds,
Stearns 4.
Two major categories -- rebounding and field goal percentage --
were decidedly in favor of the home team. Springfield outrebounded
the Blue, 40-21, during the course of the contest. SC also shot
.514 from the field (18-of-35), while Wellesley shot just .275
(14-of-51). It was the first time Springfield had shot better than
50% from the floor in 13 games this season (previous best was .476
at Worcester State in the season-opener). Meanwhile, Wellesley had
an edge in forcing 27 turnovers, while committing 19, and shooting
well from the free throw line (.900) on 18-of-20 from the
stripe.
Wellesley led the vast majority of the first half. The Blue led
19-14 with 9:14 remaining, and then went on an 8-0 run in the next
three minutes, culminated by a 3-pointer by Martore. That gave
Wellesley its largest lead at 27-14 with 6:18 left.
With 3:14 left, following two free throws by Kimball, the Blue
still led by 12 at 32-20. But then SC went on a 9-0 run to finish
the half, with Biondolillo making big 3-pointers with 2:04 and 1:18
left.
It was nip-and-tuck through the first 8 1/2 minutes of the
second half. When Maier made two free throws with 11:43 left,
Wellesley held a 42-41 advantage. But a 3-pointer by Murphy with
11:24 to go gave the Pride the lead for good at 44-42. That was
followed by a free throw by Biondolillo with 8:56 left, a lay-up by
Biondolillo with 6:56 to go, and a lay-up by Slattery with 6:11 to
go -- and suddenly SC had scored eight straight to take a 49-42
lead. That spurt proved decisive.
Wellesley closed to within four on three occasions, once at
53-49 with 2:49 to go. But Sapowsky scored the next four points on
two free throws and a lay-up with 1:57 left to make it a little
more comfortable for the Pride.
Up next, both teams will play conference games on Wednesday, the
13th. Springfield will travel to Coast Guard for a 5:30 pm
encounter, while Wellesley will host league-leader Babson at 7
pm.