Springfield, Mass. – December 7, 2012 – The Springfield College women’s basketball team battled back from a 16-point first-half deficit, but couldn’t hold on as visiting WPI bested the Pride, 62-52, in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action Friday night in Blake Arena.

WPI ups its record to 4-3, 2-2 in league play, while Springfield drops to 1-6, 0-4.

The Engineers were led by Dani Davis, who netted a career-best 19 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds. Theresa Logan notched 10 points and five boards, while Kelly Morgan contributed nine points. Rachel Pineda ended the evening with a team-best five helpers. While shooting just 18-for-52 (34.6%) for the game, WPI made their free throws count, knocking down 21 of 22 attempts.

For Springfield, Heather Lewis continued to be especially effective on the offensive side of the ball, pouring in 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Jaimie Bickelhaupt had her best game of the season thus far, posting 15 rebounds and 14 points. Springfield was once again sloppy with the ball, committing 25 turnovers that translated into 21 WPI points.

After Haili Welton drilled a step-back three pointer at the 12:25 mark, WPI found themselves with a comfortable 20-4 lead. Following a timeout, the Pride clamped down on defense and rattled off a 10-0 run, capped off by a three-point play by Lewis, to make it a 20-14 game at the 5:02 mark.

The Engineers would then answer back with a inside bucket from Davis and a deep three from Morgan to regain an 11-point cushion. Springfield would not go away as it turned to Bickelhaupt and Lewis down the stretc. The duo led the hosts to an 11-2 run, cutting WPI’s lead to 27-25 heading into intermission. Bickelhaupt netted six in the spurt while Lewis added five of her own.

Springfield took its first lead of the game following a three-point play by Tamara Tribble 1:21 into the second half after a great inside look by Andrea Moschetta. The Pride would eventually take a four-point lead on a Bickelhaupt jumper in the paint with 16:04 on the clock.

WPI buckled down on defense to claw back into the contest. Using its full-court press, the Engineers grinded out a 16-2 spurt, with LoganÂ's layup at 7:53 giving the visitors a 45-35 lead.

With 2:08 on the clock, Lewis scored in transition after Springfield’s defense forced a turnover, cutting WPI’s lead to 54-49 with just 2:08 left in regulation. However, the Engineers were clutch from the line, hitting all eight of their foul shots to clinch the 10-point victory.

Springfield will play its final game of the semester on Tuesday evening when it travels south to take on Albertus Magnus at 7:00 pm.