Smith opened the scoring with a basket by Rose Baldwin two minutes into the contest. Tech went on to score nine unanswered points, resulting in its largest lead of the game at 13:57. The Pioneers responded with a 12-0 run, notching a 15-9 advantage with 4:16 remaining. Samantha O’Keefe ended an 11-minute scoring drought for MIT with a put-back. Smith entered the intermission with a 19-13 advantage.
The early stages of the second stanza featured much scoring by both sides. The Pioneers established their largest margin of the contest (26-18) on a pair of free throws by Baldwin at the 15:58 mark. The Engineers chipped away at the deficit, as a steal and lay-up by O’Keefe brought them within one (28-27) in a span of 3:10. Smith pushed its advantage to seven (37-30) with 4:09 left to play. A free throw by O’Keefe and a three-pointer by Yuan put Tech within striking distance with 1:48 on the clock. MIT could not capitalize on several opportunities down the stretch while the Pioneers made the clutch free throws in the final moments.
O’Keefe registered nine points, six rebounds and four steals while Cherelle Walls grabbed a team-high seven boards.
For Smith, Baldwin and Harrison each tallied eight points as Harrison recorded seven caroms and three blocks. Nati Lenchner collected a game-high 12 rebounds.