Cambridge, Mass. - February 18, 2026 - The Springfield College women's basketball team fell to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponent MIT in a close fought matchup on Wednesday afternoon.

The Engineers improve to 14-10 overall and 8-2 in the conference as the Pride drops to 15-9, 6-4. 

Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) led the Pride after filling the box score with 11 points, five rebounds, and three steals as Ruth Boles (South Portland, Maine) also had eleven points. Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.) had eight points as Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) had nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. 

It was a slow start as Deana Prasad hit a trey for the Engineers at 8:22 before the Pride scored their first points of the game almost four minutes in. The first basket for Springfield sparked a 14-2 run for the Pride with Lucas scoring seven of those to force a timeout from MIT. The teams then exchanged two baskets and the Pride led 19-9 going into the second quarter. 

Boles made one from beyond the arc before the Engineers went on a 12-5 to take a 26-21 lead. MIT outscored Springfield by five in the second quarter to take the five point lead going into the halftime break, 30-25. 

The Engineers started off the third quarter with five straight points to tie it at 30 and then went on an 11-2 run which lasted over five minutes as the Pride were held to six points. MIT led 41-36 going into the fourth quarter as Springfield only made three field goals and were outrebounded by MIT 17-9. 

Springfield started out with a quick basket from Izzy Pazzaglia (Salem, Conn.) to open up the fourth as the Pride continued to work to stay in the game. With less than three minutes left and Springfield down five, the Pride scored five straight with Madison Lopez (Bronx, N.Y.) knocking down a free throw to tie it a 47. The Engineers scored back-to-back baskets before Lopez scored to put the Pride within two with one second to play, but it didn't leave enough time for the Pride as MIT won it, 51-49. 

The Engineers shot 35.5-percent from the floor as the Pride shot 32.1-percent from the floor but were 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. MIT held a 43-38 edge off the glass and scored 17 second chance points. 

Springfield will head to Emerson on Saturday for a 1:00 pm tip off to close out the regular season.

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