Babson Park, Mass. - February 27, 2016 - Despite holding an eight-point lead with 8:09 left in the contest, the Springfield College women's basketball program fell to Babson College, 59-52, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Semifinals on Saturday afternooon in Staake Gymnasium.

Springfield, which was the No. 5 seed in the tournament, closes its season with an overall record of 17-10, while Babson, which is the defending NEWMAC Women's Basketball champion and top seed in this year's tournament, improves to 21-5 overall.

Springfield shot 21-of-56 (37.5%) on the afternoon, while the Beavers were 23-of-56 (41.1%) from the floor. The Pride held a slight 35-34 edge on the glass, but Babson scored 36 of its points in the paint, to Springfield's 20.

Senior guard Heather Lewis (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) led the Pride with 12 points, including nine in the first half, to go along with five rebounds, while junior guards Danielle Racette (North Adams, Mass.) and Molly McCausland (Milton, Mass.) netted 10 points apiece in the defeat. Additionally, senior forward Emily Gins (Fort Myers, Fla.) posted nine points and nine rebounds in her final game in maroon and white.

For Babson, junior guard Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) posted a game-high 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Taylor Russell (Braintree, Mass.) notched 10 points in the victory. Linnett Graber (Roseland, N.J.) and Kristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) each finished with seven rebounds apiece.

The Pride jumped out to an early 8-2 start behind back-to-back baskets from junior guard Racette and a deep two from Lewis, but the Beavers would come back to even the contest at 10 points apiece when Russell hit a lay-up with 3:28 left in the first stanza.

From there, Springfield would answer with five unanswered points, capped by a free-throw from Racette to make it 15-10, before taking a 19-14 lead when McCausland grabbed an offensive board and put-back lay-up as time expired in the first quarter.

A McCausland triple just 1:36 into the second quarter pushed the Pride's lead to eight, before Lewis knocked down another deep two to make it 25-16, Springfield, with 7:18 until half. Sophomore Carli Brent (Wilmington, Mass.) would convert a lay-up with 4:58 to go in the period to make it 29-22, but the Beavers would end the half on back-to-back baskets from Ferola and Pickering to make it a three-point game at the break.

Holding on to a five-point lead following a free-throw from Gins midway through the third, Babson cut its deficit to one with a lay-up from Brenna LeGacy (Attleboro, Mass.), but the Pride would respond with four points of its own, including a pair of free-throws from Lewis to end the stanza with a 39-34 lead.

Following a lay-up from Gins and a free-throw from Gracie Restituyo (Jersey City, N.J.), the Pride took a 42-34 lead with 8:09 left in the game, but six-straight points from Pickering, including a jumper with 6:03 left brought the Beavers back to within two. Following a basket from LeGacy and a lay-up from Cicchetti in transition, Babson would take a two-point lead, and would hold on from there, finishing off the 59-52 victory.