Springfield, Mass. – February 26, 2025 – The third-seeded Springfield College women's basketball team fell 70-65 to sixth-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology in overtime in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Tournament on Wednesday evening in Blake Arena.
MIT improved to 11-14 and will play host to seventh-seeded WPI for the semifinal round on Friday at 7:00 pm, while Springfield sees its season come to a close at 15-11. This was the first postseason meeting between Springfield and MIT since the 2019 NEWMAC Championship, and the Engineers are now 3-1 all-time against the Pride in the NEWMAC Tournament with previous meetings coming in the championship in 2019, the quarterfinals in 2018 and the quarterfinals in 2016.
Angie Czeremcha (West Springfield) led the way for the Pride posting 14 points, five boards, two assists, a block and a steal. Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) and Kassidy Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) added a combined 24 points and 12 rebounds, with Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) chipping in 12 points, six boards and two blocks. MIT was led by Kamsi Nwogu, who posted a game-high in points (23) and rebounds (11).
The game opened in a back-and-forth affair, as midway through the first quarter the NEWMAC foes found themselves in a 7-7 stalemate. The Engineers rattled off two quick buckets, but in the final 3:48 it was all Springfield. The Pride closed out the opening frame on a 7-3 run, highlighted by a trey and pull-up jumper from Lucas to lead 18-14. The second quarter was yet another tightly contested battle, with neither team leading by more than six points. MIT entered the halftime locker room with just a one point lead, 32-31, despite a shot-clock-beating triple from Carrano with 1:05 remaining.
The Pride came out of the gates hot in the second half, as back-to-back scores from Lindsey Laughlan (Ellington, Conn.) and a three from Leary gave Springfield a 38-36 advantage with 7:37 remaining in the quarter. MIT pulled the game back to even, 38-38, but a flawlessly executed pick-and-roll between Czermcha and Carrano, followed by a beautiful inside feed from Lopez to Lucas gave Springfield a 47-43 lead with 1:30 remaining. Despite being the shortest player on the court, Lopez rose up to snag an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession, finishing the layup before Carrano knocked down a step-back jumper as time expired. The Pride entered the fourth up 51-43 on an 8-0 run.
The Engineers weren't going away, however, as they responded with a 13-2 run over the first 6:08 of the fourth quarter, with Nwogu and Elise Harvey combining for 11 points. A minute and eight seconds later, Carrano reignited Blake Arena, nailing a left wing three to knot the game at 56 with 2:44 remaining. Czeremcha gave Springfield a two-point lead connecting on a layup with 1:15 to go, but Nwogu buried another floater with 18 seconds to go – proving to be the last points of regulation, as the teams entered overtime tied 58-58.
Czermcha scored the first basket of the extra session, but the Engineers rallied off a 15-5 run to end the game and clinch the postseason win by a 70-65 final as the Engineers advanced to the NEWMAC Semifinals for the third consecutive season.
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