MIT Comes Back to Defeat Basketball, 59-49
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Jan. 26, 2008) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology women's basketball team overcame a ten-point halftime deficit to defeat New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Mount Holyoke College 59-49 this afternoon at the Rockwell Cage. It was the Engineers first league win of the 2007-08 campaign.MIT came out on top despite shooting just 34.6% (18-52) from the field. The Engineers got to the free-throw line 19 more times than Mount Holyoke, converting 78.3% (18-23) of their attempts. They were led by graduate student Samia Mahjub (Barrington, Ill./William Fremd), who tallied a game-high 18 points to go with 11 rebounds. The forward made 6-of-12 shots from the floor and drained both of her three-point tries. She also made all four of her shots from the charity stripe. First year forward Kelsey Cappelle (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and junior guard Clara Yuan (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) finished with 16 and 11 points, respectively, while senior guard Kimberly Soo Hoo (Benicia, Calif./Berkeley) chipped in with eight points and a game-best seven assists.
Mount Holyoke struggled from the floor as well, shooting 36.7% (22-60). The Lyons managed just four free-throw attempts in the contest. Sophomore forward Jess Olson (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) recorded 15 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and five assists to pace the guests. It was her ninth double-double of the season and 15th of her career. Olson was responsible for three of Mount Holyoke's four three-pointers. Senior forward Marisa Barone (Ludlow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Academy) posted 14 points and eight boards, while sophomore guard Erin Cain (Quincy, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) added 13 points.
Junior forward Cheryl Kwinn (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) collected eight of her 11 points in the first five minutes to help MIT to an early 12-5 edge. The forward netted a pair of treys and short jumper during the span. Mount Holyoke battled back to tie things up at 16-16 at the 8:04 mark of the opening frame. The Lyons then closed out the period with a 14-4 run to open up a 30-20 halftime advantage. Cain led all scorers with 11 points at the break.
MIT chipped away at the lead in the early stages of the second half, eventually knotting things up at 34-34 with just under 14 minutes remaining in regulation. The game was still even (42-42) at the 8:05 mark, but the Engineers rallied for the next eight points to pull away. A final push by Mount Holyoke sliced the margin to 51-47 with 1:29 to go. From there, MIT went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line to ice things.
Mount Holyoke (3-13, 0-5 NEWMAC) will travel to Smith College for a NEWMAC tilt on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Five of the Lyons final seven games will be played on their home court.
Game Statistics
