November 23, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Williamson
(413) 585-2703

Basketball Goes 2-0 at the Seven Sisters Classic with a Win Over Bryn Mawr; Welk and Murelli Named to All Tournament Team

Northampton, MA: The Smith College basketball team was led by the offense of Jessica Welk '11 (Arlington, WA) and Berit Schelde '10 (Holstebro, Denmark) who combined for 32 of the Pioneers 67 points in a 67-54 win over Bryn Mawr College in their second game at the Seven Sisters Classic. The win improves Smith to 3-1 on the season, while the Owls fall to 1-1 overall.

For the second day in a row Smith's defensive intensity helped in setting the tone of the game. The Pioneers' half court zone trap forced 12 Bryn Mawr turnovers to give Smith the 40-24 lead at the half. Off the bench, Megan Kiefer '10 (Oak Park, IL) came out aggressive with 5 of Smith's 15 steals on the game--two of which came in the first half resulting in back-to-back lay-ups to assist in Smith's large halftime lead. Courtney Parker '09 (Ocean City, MD) added 3 steals to go along with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Welk was 7of 14 shooting with 2 of 5 three pointers to lead Smith with 18 points. Schelde had 14 points on 5 for 12 shooting and 4 for 4 from the line. Anna Veltri '11 (W.Milford, NJ) also had a solid performance for Smith with 6 rebounds, 5 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Welk and Meredith Murelli (Litchfield, CT) were selected to the 2008 Seven Sisters Basketball All Classic Team for their performances over the weekend. Welk averaged 14 points per game for Smith while Murelli posted 9 points per game witha total of 13 rebounds.

The Smith basketball team will be back in action Tuesday, November 25 as they travel to Elms College for a 7 pm tip-off.