Kinnaman’s scoring spree began with a lay-up four seconds after the opening tip. Both squads traded baskets, resulting in a 4-4 tie at 18:12. A lay-up by Clara Yuan on the ensuing possession gave the Engineers’ (5-10) the lead for good and sparked a 9-2 run that spanned four minutes. Lesley responded with scoring spurt of its own, which cut the deficit to two (19-17) on a lay-up by Lisa Pina with 8:48 on the clock. A pair of free throws by Kimberly Soo Hoo and an additional shot from the charity stripe by Christa Margossian gave Tech some breathing room. The Lynx responded with Kristin King setting-up Christine Buchanan for a lay-up at the 7:20 mark, but the basket would also be their last of the half. MIT tallied 12 unanswered points, entering the intermission with a 34-19 advantage.
The Engineers continued to cruise in the second stanza, extending its lead to as many as 22 points (51-29) with 8:49 left to play. A pair of treys from Vines coupled with baskets from Christine Buchanan, Christina DiGiorgio, and Leakeas helped narrow the margin to 15 in a span of almost five minutes. It would not be enough as MIT outscored the Lynx, 7-2, to close the game.
Yuan was the second player for Tech to finish in double-figures, totaling 12 points and a game-high five steals. Margossian had a strong defensive outing as she collected six rebounds and a block.
Buchanan led Lesley’s rebounding corps with six boards to go along with eight points.
The next game for MIT will be on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:00 p.m. when it travels to Wheaton College.