February 17, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

 Smith Basketball Defeats MIT in Double Overtime

Northampton, MA:  The Pioneers defeated MIT today 43-41 in double overtime to secure eighth place in the New England Women's and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) standings and a trip to the conference championship. Quarterfinal action of the championship begins on Wednesday, February 22 and the Pioneers will travel to the number one seed, WPI, for a 7 p.m. contest.

             The Pioneers balanced attack built a twelve point lead, 21-9, in the first fifteen minutes of play but MIT closed the gap to eight by halftime. Senior Helena Charron (Portland, ME) led Smith in the first half as she scored eight of her game high 12 points while senior guard Micahl Ruchelsman (West Orange, NJ) led MIT with nine points.

             With eight minutes left in regulation and Smith maintaining a nine point lead, Ruchelsman converted two consecutive three-pointers to bring the Engineers within three (36-33).  Two free throws by Christa Margossian (Revere, MA) closed the gap to one for MIT. Smith’s Rose Baldwin (South Strafford, CT) converted a free throw at the 3:45 mark and MIT’s Sharon Prange (Arlington, VA) tied it up at 37 with 3:19 left. Neither team scored in the remaining minutes that forced overtime.

             MIT took the lead in the first overtime on a jumper by Prange with Baldwin bringing Smith within one on a free throw. Margossian scored two for MIT with 1:14 left and Baldwin sank a three-pointer with :52 remaining to send the game into the second overtime.

             Both teams had scoring opportunities in the second overtime but it wasn’t until eleven seconds remained that Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NJ) found Charron under the basket for a layup to give the Pioneers the win.

             Courtney Parker (Gainesville, FL) led Smith with 12 rebounds while Prange picked up 14 for MIT. Clara Yuan (San Jose, CA) and Ruchelsman scored in double figures for MIT in the loss with 12 and 11 respectively.

             With the win, Smith improved to 3-21 overall and 2-11 in conference play while MIT finished the season 4-20 overall and 1-12 in the NEWMAC.