February 21, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

Basketball Falls to Springfield

Northampton, MA: The Pioneers traveled to Springfield College last night and fell to their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponent 74-46. With the victory, the Pride improved to 14-9 overall and 9-3 in conference competition while Smith fell to 4-18 overall and 2-10 in the NEWMAC.

The Pride put together a 11-5 run in the first five minutes of the game but Laura Miller (Minneapolis, MN) tallied four and Ashley Sutton (Greenfield, MA) five points to bring Smith within one at 15-14. Springfield slowly increased its lead to ten over the next ten minutes of play (30-20). The Pioneers' Nicole Robitaille (Gorham, ME) and Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NY) combined for the next six points of the game to bring Smith within four.  The teams exchanged hoops for the remainder of the half with Springfield taking a 38-32 lead into the half. Both teams shot well in the first half with Springfield connecting for 59% and Smith 45%.

The Pioneers shooting cooled down in the second half which allowed the Pride to go on a 12-0 run and take a commanding 50-32 lead with fifteen minutes left in the game. The Pioneers continued to struggle offensively and were able to tally only 14 points in the half.

Sutton was the high scorer for Smith with 9 points, Miller the top rebounder with 8 while Anna Veltri (West Milford, NJ) and Vuono each had 3 steals. Springfield had four players in double figures, Tara McCarthy 13, Lauren O'Connor 12, Liz Brosseau 12 and Rachelle Walker 10.

The Pioneers will host Wellesley College at 2 pm on Saturday.