Springfield, Mass. – February 23, 2024 – The Springfield College women's basketball team was clipped in overtime by Babson, 64-59, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Semifinals on Friday evening in Blake Arena.

The loss snaps top-seeded Springfield's 10-game winning streak as it fell to 22-5 on the year.  The Pride, which received votes in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Division III National Poll last week and was ranked third in the NCAA Division III Region II Rankings, will now await to it's NCAA Division III Championship fate when the field is announced on Monday at 2:30 pm.

Fifth-seeded Babson moves to 15-12 on the year and will travel to take on Smith on Sunday at 1 pm with the conference title on the line.

Jaelen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) netted a game-high 17 points and Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) added 14 points for the hosts.  Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) produced another double double with 18 rebounds and 10 points and set the single-season program for rebounds in a season, lifting her season total to 318 as she bested Gracie Restituyo's mark of 304 which was established in 2018.  Springfield shot just 22-for-68 (32%) as they took 28 three pointers in the contest, connecting on nine.

For Babson, Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) paced the way with 17 points as she canned four triples and Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) added 13 points off the bench.  Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, Mass.) contributed 12 points and nine rebounds and Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.  For the game, Babson shot 21-for-49 (43%) and made 15-of-17 from the free throw line, including 7-of-8 in OT.

With the score knotted at 10-10 with just over three minutes left in the opening quarter, Springfield closed out the frame on a 7-0 push, as Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) rattled in a triple from the left wing to give the hosts a 17-10 cushion heading in the second.

The Beavers opened up the second half with a 7-2 surge in the opening two-plus minutes, as Reale knocked down a pair from the stripe to make it 19-17. Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) would later drill a straightaway three to let Springfield take a 27-22 lead.  However, a 7-2 run by Babson over the final 3:56 make it a 29-27 halftime as Flynn got free for a corner triple in the waning seconds.

Mollica knocked down a three pointer to kickstart an 8-0 by Babson in the opening minutes of the third quarter to give the visitors a 35-31 advantage with 4:47 on the clock.  Lucas would come up with another trifecta in a big spot to even things up at 37 at 3:39, but the Beavers closed out the frame on a 5-1 push to take a 42-38 lead into the fourth.  Springfield shot just 3-for-16 in the stanza, while a balanced Babson offense had four players with at least three points.

Springfield reeled off a 7-0 run to start the fourth, as Leary converted off a steal to put the hosts back on top, 45-42 at 7:35.  Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) answered right back inside as Babson used a 9-0 burst of their own over the next three-plus minutes to regain a 51-45 lead following a three-point play by Flynn at 4:21.  Springfield would hold the Beavers off the scoreboard for the remainder of regulation, eventually tying things up with 1:55 on the clock on a inside score from Lucas.  Springfield had a possession with under 30 seconds to go but turned it over and Babson's last second attempt coming out of a timeout was off the mark as the teams headed into an extra session.

In overtime, Leary buried a step-back three at 3:19 to give Springfield a 56-53 edge, but over the next 3:01, Babson would score eight unanswered points and hold Springfield to 0-for-5 from the field as the lead grew to 61-56 on a pair of freebies was Walsh with 18 ticks left. Leary would make a late triple and the Pride would have a look to tie the game trailing 62-59 with seven seconds left, but a three bid was wide as the Beavers held on for the 65-59 triumph.  

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