January 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

Smith Basketball Defeats Mount Holyoke 63-48

Northampton, MA: Sophomore Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NJ)tallied a team high 14 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Pioneers past the Lyons 63-48 this evening in Northampton. With the victory, Smith improved to 4-12 overall and 2-5 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) while Mount Holyoke fell to 3-14 overall and 0-6 in conference competition.

The Pioneers hot shooting in the first half made the difference in the game. Smith shot 16-for-29 from the floor for 55.2% while the Lyons hit 10-for-30.  The lead exchanged hands six times in the opening eight minutes of play before Smith put together a 12-0 run with six different players scoring to go ahead 25-12 and maintained that thirteen point lead into the half (36-23).

The Lyons closed to within ten points (45-35) after a 10-0 run with 13:36 remaining in the second half but Smith responded with the next six points to increase its lead to sixteen and that was enough to take the victory.

Junior Meredith Murelli (Litchfield, CT) scored 13 points with five rebounds, Berit Schelde (Holstebro, Denmark) tallied 11 points and Courtney Parker (Ocean City, MD) matched Vuono's team high 8 rebounds in the victory for Smith.

Senior Marisa Barone (Ludlow, MA) led the Lyons with 14 points and 7 rebounds while junior Katie Austen (Mount Sinai, NY) added a dozen and had a game high seven steals in the loss for the Lyons.

Smith travels to NEWMAC rival Clark University on Saturday, February 2 for a 1 pm contest while Mount Holyoke hosts WPI at 2 pm.