Margossian tallied the first point of the contest by converting one of two shots from the free throw line at 18:17. Rivier (1-18) got on the scoreboard with a pair of lay-ups by Peggy Dalton over the next two minutes. Tech ended a four-minute scoring drought when Kimberly Soo Hoo sank both shots from the charity stripe. Knowles quickly answered with a three and Alice Yeh posted MIT’s first field goal at the 12:54 mark. The Raiders maintained their advantage until Michal Ruchelsman’s trey knotted the contest at 15 with 7:12 remaining. Margossian put the Engineers ahead with a lay-up, which was quickly erased by Elise Begnoche’s free throws. Clara Yuan gave MIT the lead for good with a three-pointer less than two minutes later. Tech entered the intermission with a 26-23 advantage.
The second stanza was closely played as Rivier stayed within striking distance for the majority of the half, coming within one (40-39) at 12:27. Yuan’s jumper on the Engineers’ next possession sparked a 17-3 run during the next five minutes that helped lead them to the win. As a team, Tech raised its first-half shooting percentage from .290 to .417. In addition, MIT committed four second-half turnovers for a final tally of 11.
Yuan also totaled 13 points for MIT while Cherelle Walls posted her first double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Soo Hoo dished out five assists while Ruchelsman grabbed six boards.
Begnoche tallied 15 points and eight caroms coming off the bench as Dalton collected a team-high nine rebounds for the Raiders.
The next game for MIT will be on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to Mount Holyoke College.