McNally's Heroics Spark Women's Basketball Past Springfield

WPI 63, Springfield 62 (OT)

Worcester, MA --- Baillie McNally's (Mapleville, RI) only basket of the game late in overtime lifted WPI to a thrilling 63-62 victory over visiting Springfield on Wednesday evening in a battle of NEWMAC conference unbeaten teams. WPI, winners of six straight, is now 6-2 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in conference play while Springfield slips to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in NEWMAC action.

After McNally's bucket with 1:22 left, Springfield managed three shots, the last of which came in the waning seconds and was defended well by WPI's Melissa Kuhn (Stoughton, MA). WPI missed a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left but the Pride was unable to get a final shot off before the buzzer sounded.

Kuhn's defensive stand complimented a career night offensively for the junior. The guard poured in a career-best 23 points, including four in the overtime session. Freshman Theresa Logan (Southboro, MA) came off the bench to register 14 points and 11 rebounds en route to posting her third double-double in eight outings.

The Crimson and Gray forced overtime when freshman Caitlin O'Connor (New Hampton, NH) drained three free throws with 1:14 left in regulation. After O'Connor's heroics, the Pride missed three shots in the final minute but defended a WPI jumper in the lane with four seconds left. Lauren Hannmann (East Greenbush, NY) added 10 points for the Engineers, who received a team-best 10 rebounds from senior Brittany McNally (Mapleville, RI).

Meghan Biondolillo (Levittown, NY) led the way for Springfield with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Andrea Butler (Cohoes, NY) filled the stat sheet for the Pride, notching game-highs of 12 rebounds, seven steals, and four assists to go along with eight points. Abby Connors (Douglas, MA) and Kelly Slattery (Somers, CT) each tallied 12 points and five rebounds for the Pride.

WPI took a 34-21 halftime advantage into the locker room after back-to-back 3-pointers by Logan sparked an 8-0 run to close the first half. Springfield stormed out of the locker room, scoring 24 of the first 32 points of the second stanza to seize a 45-42 advantage with 11:15 to play.

WPI plays its final game before final exams on Friday. The Engineers travel to Babson for a meeting of 3-0 first place squads. Tipoff is slated for 7pm. Springfield opens a five-game homestand on Saturday, hosting Wheaton at 1pm.