NORTHAMPTON – An explosive first quarter propelled the top-seeded Smith College basketball team to a 61-49 win over fifth-seeded Springfield College in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Tournament on Friday evening in Ainsworth Gymnasium. The Pioneers will host the No. 2 seed Babson Beavers for the title on Sunday, February 26 at 1:00pm.
Smith, which is ranked No. 4 in the nation by D3hoops.com, improves to 25-1 on the year and is currently on a 19-game win streak. Springfield’s season comes to an end with an overall record of 18-9.
Game Highlights
- A layup by Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mi/Detroit Country Day) sparked an 8-0 run to open the game before Smith went on to hold a 21-10 advantage at the end of the quarter
- Jessie Ruffner’s (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin) bucket made it 23-10 before Angela Czeremcha scored the next five points to bring the Pride within 23-15. The two teams would exchange baskets over the next several minutes before Morrison’s layup on with 38 seconds left in the quarter gave Smith a 36-22 lead, however Rachel Vinton drained a three-pointer to end the half
- The back-and-forth trend continued in the third as Springfield was only able to get as close as nine throughout the period. Dashelle Gleissner (Los Angeles, Calif./Serra) connected from downtown as Smith took a 47-35 edge into the final quarter
- Back-to-back three pointers from Amelia Clairmont (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton School) in the fourth gave the Pioneers a 55-40 cushion with 6:17 on the clock, forcing a timeout by the Pride. A steal and basket by Vinton brought the…
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