NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (January 23, 2008) – Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) tallied a team-high 16 points and led the Springfield College women's basketball team to a 51-49 victory at Smith College on Wednesday evening.

With the win, the Pride currently stands at 8-7 on the year and moves to 3-1 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference action.

The Pride, missing two starters and suiting up just nine players for the contest, battled throughout en route to the two-point victory.

The teams exchanged baskets in the opening half with the lead changing hands nine times. With just under four minutes remaining, the Pioneers outscored Springfield 4-0 to take a 26-21 lead into the half. Sophomore Berit Schelde (Holstebro, Denmark), who had a game high 16 points, scored 12 of them in the first half for Smith.

The Pioneers extended their lead to 29-21 on the opening play of the second half on a trey by Ashley Sutton (Greenfield, MA). The Pride then took over and pulled within three on baskets by McCarthy and Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa). McCarthy then tied it up at 29-all on a three-pointer at the 15-minute mark. Sutton and Schelde combined for the next five points of the game, but the Pride again responded and tied it at 34, and then took the lead on another 3-pointer by McCarthy. Springfield went ahead by six with just under five minutes remaining, but Smith then closed the gap.

With 2:54 left in the game, Liz Brosseau (Franklin, Mass.) connected on a 10-foot jumper as the shot clock expired to give the Pride a 46-43 advantage. Finally, Smith had a chance to win the game as it had the ball underneath the Springfield basket with just two seconds remaining. However, McCarthy stole the inbounds pass to preserve the Pride's third conference win of the 2008 campaign.

McCarthy finished with 16 points and connected on 4-of-9 from downtown, while Finch added 10 points and nine rebounds. Brosseau registered 12 points and seven rebounds, while Rachelle Walker (Lee, Mass.) netted eight points to go along with three assists.

Springfield returns to action on Saturday afternoon when the WPI Engineers head to Blake Arena for a 1:00 pm tip off.

published: 01/23/2008