Rivier’s only lead of the game was a jumper by Taddeo one minute into the contest. The Engineers (3-16) went on a 20-6 run over the next 10 minutes to take a 12-point lead (20-8). Both squads traded baskets until the 4:54 mark when Rivier went on a 9-2 run, coming within one point (28-27) on a basket by Lauren Viveiros. Tech’s Lauren Tsai responded by draining a three-pointer, thwarting the Raiders’ comeback with 2:17 remaining in the half. MIT entered the intermission with a slim 35-27 advantage.
The Engineers’ offensive momentum continued in the second stanza, building up a 16-point lead (46-30) with 16:24 left to play. During the next four minutes, Rivier cut the commanding margin in half twice, coming as close as 54-46 on a layup by Elise Begnoche at the 10:00 mark. This basket proved to be the Raiders’ last field goal of the game, as their final nine points came from the charity stripe. A jumper by Cherelle Walls returned Tech’s lead to double-digits and kept Rivier at bay.
Both squads finished the night with a balanced scoring attack. MIT saw nine of its 13 players get on the scoreboard, while all eight Raiders contributed to the final score.
Lauren Tsai, Maria Hidalgo, and Christa Margossian each tallied nine points for the Engineers. Tsai paced Tech from three-point range, shooting 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Samia Mahjub had a game-high 14 rebounds, including 11 key defensive boards. Karen Kinnaman collected an impressive six offensive caroms in the first half en route to finishing with a total of nine rebounds.
For Rivier, Lauren Viveiros finished wth 12 points and seven rebounds while Lori Betley added eight points.
The next game for MIT will be on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to NEWMAC foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute.