February 10, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

             Springfield Basketball Defeats Smith 66-55

 Northampton, MA:  Springfield College defeated the Pioneers this afternoon 66-55 in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game and improved to 12-11 overall and 7-4 in the NEWMAC while Smith fell to 2-20 overall and 1-10 in conference play.

             The Pride took a 32-18 lead into the half behind the shooting of junior Tara McCarthy (Bristol, RI) who scored 15 of her game high 20 points. McCarthy also became the 11^th woman in Springfield College history to score 1,000 points on her 11^th point of the game.

             The second half was an even battle between the two teams with Smith outscoring Springfield 37-34 but the first half deficit was just too much to overcome for the Pioneers. Smith sophomore Courtney Parker (Ocean City, MD) tallied a double-double in the loss with a team high 16 points and game high 13 rebounds. First year Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NJ) added 10 points and 3 steals for Smith.

             Springfield sophomore Liz Brosseau (Franklin, MA) registered 11 points while Lauren O’Connor (Valhalla, NY) pulled down a team high 9 rebounds.

             Both teams enter the final week of regular season competition in the NEWMAC. Wednesday’s games feature Springfield traveling to Clark for a 5:30 pm game while Smith faces valley rival Mount Holyoke in South Hadley at 7 p.m.