Springfield, Mass. – January 20, 2024 – The Springfield College women's basketball team bounced back with a 73-56 victory over Wellesley on Saturday afternoon in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest.

Springfield improved to 13-4, 2-1 against conference foes while Wellesley dipped to 6-8, 0-3.

Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) netted a game-high 17 points to go along with 14 rebounds for her ninth double double of the season, while Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) pumped in 15 points off the bench.  Both Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) and Kassidy Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) also had 10 points apiece as the Pride's bench accounted for 37 points in the victory.  Springfield finished the game with a 44-27 advantage on the glass and 20 second-chance points from 16 offensive rebounds.

For Wellesley, Both JJiyun Chae and Trinity Barrow accounted for 13 points.

The visitors knocked down a pair of early triples to gain a 6-2 edge in the opening 90 seconds of the game, but the Pride would respond with a 13-0 push over the next 3:56 to open up a 15-6 advantage following a wing three from Finney.  Wellesley would answer back with an 8-0 push of their own to make it a 17-16 game on a floater from Mirella Funari, but Springfield would close out the half with the final seven points, with Lucas stepping into a deep triple at the horn for the 24-16 lead.

In the second quarter, Springfield's advantage ballooned to 40-21 on inside score of Czeremcha with just under three minutes to play.  The Pride would shoot 9-of-18 from the field, with six players connecting on field goals, to take a 44-27 lead into the halftime.

The hosts outscored Wellesley by an 19-8 margin in the third with Carrano pulling up for a jumper inside the final minute to make it a 63-35 contest.  Carrano delivered a triple in transition to extend the lead to 31 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the visitors would battle tough, netting 21 points in the final 10 minutes of play as Springfield held on for the 73-56 victory.

On Wednesday, Springfield will travel to take on nationally-ranked Smith at 7 pm.

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