February 14, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

Smith Basketball Falls 56-52 to Mount Holyoke

Northampton, MA: The Pioneers of Smith fell to the Lyons of Mount Holyoke College 56-52 this afternoon in Northampton in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest. With the victory, Mount Holyoke improved to 7-16 overall and 4-7 in conference competition while the Pioneers fell to 8-14 overall and 2-9 in the NEWMAC.

The Pioneers took an 18-12 lead in the opening nine minutes of play but the Lyons put together a 7-2 run to close within one (20-19) with nine minutes remaining.  Mount Holyoke took the lead on a basket by Kate Shafir (Newton, MA) and extended it to four on a free throw by Emma Washauer (Mill Valley, CA) and a hoop by Katie Austen (Mount Sinai, NY).  With 4:01 left, the Pioneers regained the lead (25-24) on free throws by Anna Veltri (West Milford, NJ) and Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, NJ) and a basket by Berit Schelde (Holstebro, Denmark), but the Lyons tallied the last four points of the half to take a 28-25 advantage into the break.

The Lyons slowly increased their lead in the second half and with 8:50 remaining were ahead 46-36 but over the next two and a half minutes, Smith ran off 12 unanswered points to retake the lead at 48-46.  With 5:17 left, Mount Holyoke tied the game at 48 on free throws by Tricia Chase (Feeding Hills, MA) and regained the lead for the last time on a free throw by Austen. The Lyons then scored the next six points which put the game out of reach for Smith.

Erin Cain (Quincy, MA) scored a team high 13 points while Austen (11) and Shafir (12) also scored in double figures.  Jessica Welk (Arlington, WA)  led Smith with 13 points while Courtney Parker (Ocean City, MD)  had a game high 10 rebounds in the loss.

Both teams resume play on Wednesday, February 18 when Springfield travels to Smith and Coast Guard visits Mount Holyoke.