BABSON PARK, Mass. (courtesy Babson College sports information)—Senior Téa Spellacy (Belchertown, Mass.) hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:06 remaining and junior Katherine Tamulionis (Foxboro, Mass.) made four late free throws as Babson College defeated visiting Brandeis University, 66-59, in non-conference women's basketball action on Monday night at Staake Gymnasium.
Babson, which has won three of its last four games, improves to 3-2 overall, while Brandeis slips to 3-4 on the season.
Tamulionis finished with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Spellacy scored nine of her 11 points in the second half to lead the Beavers. Senior Payton Ouimette (Medfield, Mass.) added nine points, a game-high 10 rebounds and four assists, sophomore Nicole Hiller (Rocky Hill, Conn.) scored eight points off the bench, and junior Jacqueline Jozefick (Milford, Conn.) contributed seven points, nine boards, three assists and two blocks in the win.
Sophomore Kat Puda (Whitinsville, Mass./Worcester Academy) finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and senior Sarah Jaromin (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) chipped in with 14 points for the Judges. Sophomore Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) contributed 12 points, all in the first quarter, and five assists in the loss.
Casanueva made four of her first five 3-pointers to help Brandeis jump out to a 14-8 lead midway through the first quarter. The Green and White got within one on a jumper by Hiller late in the frame and pulled even at 24-24 on another bucket by Hiller with 4:59 to go in the second. Jaromin and Puda combined for the Judges' final 10 points of the half as the visitors took a 34-29 advantage to the locker room.
Babson scored on three of its first four possessions to open the third quarter and tied the game at 39-apiece on a steal and layup by Tamulionis at the 7:13 mark. Spellacy's three-pointer gave the Beavers their first lead since the opening moments of the game with 5:06 left in the period, and the hosts later responded to a 9-2 run by Brandeis with a 7-0 burst of their own to take a 51-50 advantage on a triple by Tomassini with four seconds left in the stanza.
Puda put the Judges back in front 55-53 on a three-pointer with 7:15 to go in the fourth, but Tamulionis and Hiller scored around a bucket by sophomore Samira Abdelrehim (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills) to pull even at 57-57 with 6:12 left. Tamulionis hit a short jumper along the baseline to put Babson ahead by two at the 4:51 mark, but Puda tied the game at 59 with 2:40 remaining.
Spellacy broke the deadlock with a three-pointer from the top of the key and the Green and White got three straight stops to stay in front for good. Tamulionis sealed the win by going 4-of-4 at the charity stripe over the final 13 seconds.
Babson returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Wheaton at 7 p.m., while Brandeis visits Gordon on Saturday at 1 p.m.