Beavers best Seahawks for first NEWMAC win

WELLESLEY, Mass. (Saturday, January 20, 2024) -- Junior Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) finished with 18 points and senior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) scored a season-high 15 points to lead four players in double figures to help Babson College defeat visiting Salve Regina University, 78-64, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.

Babson snapped a three-game skid to improve to 7-10 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while Salve Regina drops to 8-9 overall and 2-1 in the NEWMAC.

First-year Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, Mass.) contributed 15 points, six rebounds and four steals and junior Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards to lead the Beavers. Fellow junior Abby Miller (Millis, Mass.) chipped in with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and sophomore Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.) added eight points and four assists in the win.

Sophomore Sofia Neary (Wayne, N.J.) led all players with 21 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Seahawks. Senior Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) scored 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and classmate Ashley Rourke (Londonderry, N.H.) finished with 15 points in the loss.

Down 10-7 midway through the first quarter, the Green and White got eight points from Odam as part of a 15-1 run to build a 22-11 advantage late in the stanza. A putback by Flynn and a three-pointer by Mollica gave the Beavers their largest lead of the half at 27-13 with 8:29 to go in the second period.

Sofia and Briana Neary combined for Salve Regina's next 10 points as it pulled within six at the 4:55 mark but a triple by Flynn and two free throws apiece by Reale and Odam helped Babson push the margin back to 36-28 at the half. A three-pointer by Mollica stretched the Beavers' lead to 43-31 just over three minutes into the third quarter but the Seahawks went 13-of-14 at the charity stripe in the frame and got as close as 54-51 with 21 seconds left following two free throws by Forino.

Odam beat the third quarter buzzer with her third three-pointer of the afternoon and the Green and White scored on five of its first seven possessions of the fourth when Mollica followed four straight points by Carlo with another triple to make it 69-58 with 6:46 left. Salve Regina got as close as 73-65 on a trifecta by Rourke with 2:58 remaining but Reale came up with three steals and scored eight straight points to help Babson put the game away.

The Beavers shot 41.8 percent from the floor, knocked down 10 three-pointers and finished with a 47-33 edge on the glass. The Seahawks shot 40 percent from the floor but went just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc and were outscored 30-20 in the paint.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Babson travels to Coast Guard at 7:30 p.m. while Salve Regina visits Emerson for a 7 p.m. tip-off.