Springfield, Mass. - January 23, 2023 - Despite a late fourth-quarter push, the Springfield College women's basketball team was clipped by MIT, 61-58, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) meeting on Wednesday night.

MIT lifted its record to 10-8, 3-1 in conference play, while the Pride suffered first first conference setback of the season to dip to 12-6, 2-1.

 Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) filled her stat line with 14 points, 12 boards, eight assists, and six blocks, while Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) made a huge impact off the bench by totaling a game-high 19 points to go along with 13 rebounds.  Springfield was daunted by 18 turnovers in the game. 

For MIT, Kamsi Nwogu turned in a 16-point, 10-rebound performance and Alice Hall pulled down 11 boards to go along with eight points.  Paula Pieper netted 11 second-half points and handed out seven helpers and Angie Choi was credited with 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists of her own.  

MIT surged out to a 13-2 lead with 4:20 left in the first quarter on a jumper by Hall, only to have Springfield use an 11-3 spurt capped off by two free throws from Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) make it a one-possesion game just under two minutes later. The Engineers would hold an 18-13 lead after 10 minutes of play as the Pride was limited to just 5-of-18 from the field. 

Springfield would take its first lead of the game with 4:36 remaining in the opening half on a Czeremcha jumper in the paint to make it 24-22, only to have MIT close out the stanza on a 10-4 push to own a 32-28 advantage at the break. Vinton was a spark for the Pride in the quarter as she totaled seven points.

After Jaélen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) finished in the lane midway through the third quarter to give Springfield a slight 35-34 edge, MIT would answer with a 12-2 burst over the next three-plus minutes to take control of the game.  Pieper would account for five points in the stretch, including a key trifecta as MIT went into the final quarter owning a 49-40 cushion.

The lead for the visitors would balloon 14 points at 57-43 with 5:50 left in regulation as Springfield burned a timeout.  The hosts would then mount a furious rally, outscoring the Engineers by a 15-4 margin down the stretch.  After Hourihan scored with 20 seconds left to trim the lead to three, the Pride was forced to foul.  After being whistled for three fouls, Springfield benefitted from a MIT turnover on an inbound pass to earn a chance to tie the game.  However, out of a timeout Springfield turned the ball over and was unable to get off a shot as the Engineers held on for the win. 

On Saturday, Springfield will square off with nationally-ranked Babson at 1 pm. 

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