Springfield, Mass. – January 2, 2026 – Behind a season-high 25 points and a career-high 14 rebounds from senior Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.), the Springfield College women's basketball team defeated No. 25/RV Colby College, 53-39, in game two of the 2026 Fairfield Inn & Suites Naismith Classic on Friday afternoon.

At the conclusion of today's game, Leary was named as the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Leary was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.), Colby's Kate Olenik, Cortland's Joleen Lusk and Brooke Tillotson and Rivier's Juju Nealy.

Leary shot 10-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line accounting for her 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Finney went 5-for-11 with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 35 minutes for the Pride. Lydia Mordarski led Colby with nine points, while Olenik posted a team-best 12 boards and three assists.

Springfield's defense held Colby to a season-low 39 points, a season-low 15 field goals made and a season-low 29.4-percentage from the floor.

A tight first quarter saw the score even at eight with under four minutes left on the clock before Leary put back a layup off an offensive rebound before Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) made it a 12-8 game. Leary concluded the first with an and-one play sinking the layup and the free throw making it a 15-10 contest through ten minutes.

Early in the second, back-to-back three pointers by Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) and Izzy Pazzaglia (Salem, Conn.) as well as a jumper in the paint by Lucas extended the lead for Springfield to eight at 23-15. Leary went on to record the final eight points for the Pride before the halftime break as Springfield held a 31-22 lead midway through.

Leary scored 12 of Springfield's 22 points in the second half including seven in the third quarter alone. Finney capped the scoring in the third with a three point bucket as the Pride's lead held at 41-32 after three.

Colby tallied the first four points of the fourth to cut its deficit to five, but nine straight points from Springfield pushed the Pride ahead by 14 at 50-36 en route to the 53-39 final.

Springfield will host Amherst College on Tuesday afternoon at 5:00 pm in non-conference action from Blake Arena.

Sign up for free today to receive the latest news about your favorite Springfield College Athletics program directly to your email here. 

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to tune into all Springfield College Athletic events