Boulier put Babson on the scoreboard with a basket during its first possession. A jumper by Yuan followed by a free throw from Samantha O’Keefe gave Tech the lead at 18:26. Three minutes later, the Beavers answered with a lay-up by April Suprey and a three-point play by Becky Berg. MIT ended its own scoring drought at the 14:03 mark with a lay-up from Yuan, cutting its deficit to two (7-5). Free throws by Soo Hoo and a put-back by Karen Kinnaman knotted the game at 11 halfway through the frame. A pair of shots from the charity stripe by Soo Hoo and Suzy Ward resulted in the third tie of the half. The Engineers regained the lead on Christa Margossian’s free throws with 8:56 left to play. Tech went on to extend its advantage to eight on three occasions, but a lay-up by Berg narrowed MIT’s margin to 35-29 at the intermission.
The second stanza was a defensive battle as it featured 12 lead changes and four ties. Babson opened the period with a 9-2 run that resulted in its first lead since the midway point of the first half. Both squads traded baskets until a trey by Michal Ruchelsman gave the Engineers a four-point edge (49-45) at the 12:00 mark. Over a minute later, a lay-up by Nicole Cassinis ended a four-minute scoring drought from the floor for the Beavers. Boulier erased the deficit with a three-pointer at 8:33. Two minutes later, Tech regained the lead with a put-back by Cherelle Walls. Free throws from Ward and a basket by Suprey netted Babson’s largest advantage of the half (54-51) with 5:35 to play. A three-pointer from Yuan and a floating shot by Soo Hoo in the lane put MIT ahead in a span of two minutes. Suprey’s basket evened the game at 56 on the Beavers’ next possession. Yuan countered by draining another trey as the shot clock expired at with 2:33 remaining. Ward narrowed the margin to one (59-58) 12 seconds later. Another scoring drought ensued for both sides until Babson sent Soo Hoo to the charity stripe, which marked the Engineers only attempts of the half.
Soo Hoo finished the night with 14 points, including an 8-of-8 performance at the free throw line. Kinnaman also totaled 14 points and grabbed a game-high three steals. Margossian led all scorers with nine rebounds while Walls collected six boards.
Ward posted 12 points while Cassinis contributed 10 points in 18 minutes of play. Berg and Suprey each notched five caroms for the Beavers.
The next game for MIT will be on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to Clark University.