Springfield, Mass. – January 10, 2026 – Third-ranked Smith College outlasted the Springfield College women's basketball team, 62-54, in a non-conference matchup in Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Smith remained unbeaten at 12-0, while Springfield, which was receiving votes in this week's D3hoops.com national poll, fell to 9-5.

Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) guided Springfield with 14 points and five steals, while Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists. Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) also chipped in with nine points, three assists and a team-best seven boards. Smith had three in double figures highlighted by a 16 point effort from Uta Nakamura.

As a team, Smith shot 51.3-percent from the floor, knocked down nine shots from behind the arc and held a decisive 34-22 differential on the glass. Springfield shot just 38.2-percent from the floor, hit eight attempts from long range, but only made it to the line for five total free throws with four going in.

Smith held a 7-6 edge midway through the first, but a trey by Lucas off a feed from Carrie Hess (Shrewsbury, Mass.) sparked an 11-2 run by the Pride pushing the hosts in front 17-10. Over the stretch, Lucas, Finney and Madison Lopez (Bronx, N.Y.) converted from three point range as Springfield held a 20-15 lead through one.

The Bears scored ten of the second quarter's first 12 points before another three from Lopez tied the score at 25 with less than five minutes to play before the break. The teams traded points down the stretch with Springfield going ahead by as many as five following a three from Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) and a layup from Hess, but Mya Williams and Selam Maher converted for the Bears leaving the score even at 33 at halftime.

Tied at 43 halfway through the third, five points from Nakamura and a layup from Felicia Fongemie gave Smith its largest lead of the quarter and took an eventual 50-46 lead into the final ten minutes of play.

Smith maintained its advantage throughout the fourth, but an and-one play from Finney pulled Springfield within just two points at 55-53 with 4:10 remaining in regulation. The remaining points in the game came at the free throw line as Smith knocked down seven of eight shots to claim the non-conference win by a 62-54 final.

Springfield will travel to Babson College for its NEWMAC opener next Saturday at 1:00 pm.

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