South Hadley, MA --- WPI outscored host Mount Holyoke 22-2 in the first quarter as the Engineers bested the Lyons 84-31 on Wednesday evening to claim their first NEWMAC women's basketball triumph of the season and delivered head coach Cherise Galasso her 400th career victory.
 
WPI sees its record even up at .500 on the season at 9-9 and 1-3 on conference play while Mount Holyoke falls to 2-16 overall and 0-4 in NEWMAC action.
 
Galasso, whose 300th win ironically also came at Mount Holyoke back in 2017, is just the 38th active head coach out of over 400 Division III women's basketball coaches and 108th overall in Division III to reach the 400-victory milestone.  Her totals include 365 during her 24 years at WPI (23 years on the bench as the team did not compete during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID pandemic) and 35 during a three-year stint at Regis where she began her head coaching career.  Galasso, WPI women's basketball all-time leader in coaching victories, was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in May of 2022.
 
WPI rattled off the first 14 points of the game and shot 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc during the opening frame. The Engineers defensive pressure resulted in five first-quarter Mount Holyoke turnovers, as they held the Lyons to 1-of-10 from the field in the first ten minutes.  The Crimson kept up the pace in the second quarter, outscoring Mount Holyoke 19-6 to go into the half up 41-8 with Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) netting 12 points and Ally McMorrow (Quincy, MA) added nine during the opening half.
 
The Engineers maintained their lead wire to wire in the second half, coming out on top. The Crimson and Gray had three players score career-highs as Allison Fullem (Underhill, VT), Hailey Zembrzuski (Southington, CT), and Ava Hyams (Kearny, NJ) all exceeded their previous highs.  Fullem netted 10 of her 14 points in the second half, Zembrzuski exploded for 10 points and Hyams chipped in with seven while Femke Jansen (North Granby, CT) equaled her career-best with three points.  Giansiracusa and McMorrow each also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points each.
 
The Crimson and Gray held a commanding 44-21 edge on the glass and dished out 24 assists on 36 made field goals while only committing nine turnovers on the night. 
Sofia Santorelli (Harrison, NY) set a new career-high by doling out four assists while Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT), Leila Nielsen (New York, NY), Giansiracusa all were credited with three helpers.
 
Emma Goff (Cohasset, MA) and Libby Harris (Foxboro, MA) shared team-high scoring honors for Mount Holyoke with eight points apiece with Harris corralling a game-best nine rebounds.  Nicole Lutalo (Kampala, Uganda) connected on 3-of-5 of her field goal attempts and tallied six points and three boards for the Lyons.
 
WPI wraps up its brief two-game road trip on Saturday, venturing to Babson for a 1pm meeting with the Beavers.  The Lyons are also away on Saturday, headed to Cambridge to square off with MIT beginning at 2pm.
 
Majority of Recap Written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Owen Radcliffe '25