PRIDE LED BY MCNULT IN TOUGH BATTLE WITH NO. 13 BABSON COLLEGE

BABSON PARK, Mass. – The nationally-ranked Babson College women's basketball team held visiting Regis College to just 23.5 percent shooting on its way to a convincing 65-45 victory over the Pride in the opening round of the 2010 Babson Invitational Tournament presented by Irving Oil on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Beavers (2-0), ranked 13th in the country by D3hoops.com, advance to Sunday's championship game at 3 p.m. against either Western Connecticut State University or Bates College. Meanwhile, Regis (2-1) will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. after suffering its first loss of the season.
 
Four different players reached double-figures for Babson, which owned a commanding 59-40 rebound advantage in the game. Junior All-American Nicki Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.) scored 11 points while recording 13 rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Sarah Collins (Weymouth, Mass.) added 11 points, eight boards, and two blocked shots. Junior captain Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds, senior Damisi Adewumi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 10 points and seven caroms, and senior captain Becky Bowman (Melrose, Mass.) scored seven points and dished out a game-high five assists. The Beavers shot 43.3 percent from the field, hitting 29 of their 67 attempts.
 
Regis was led by senior captain Sarah McNult (Hampstead, N.H.), who finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and five steals, and senior captain Brittany White (Dorchester, Mass.), who added nine points and nine boards. First-year Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine) also had a strong all-around game with six points, five rebounds, three blocked shots, and a game-high six steals for the Pride, who shot just 16-for-68 from the floor, including a 5-for-32 (15.6 percent) clip in the first half.
 
Babson came storming out of the gates, scoring the first seven points of the contest to build an early 7-0 lead. Regis eventually cut its deficit to four at 11-7 on a three-pointer by first-year Leah Murphy (Westborough, Mass.), and still trailed by only four at 17-13 following a trifecta from junior Stefanie Wozmak (Auburn, N.H.) with 9:30 left in the opening half. However, the Beavers would explode for a 20-3 run over the final nine minutes of the period to take a 37-16 advantage into the break. Six different players scored for Babson during the outburst, including sophomore Allanah Wynn (Quincy), who hit back-to-back three-pointers midway through the stretch.
 
The hosts continued to dominate in the second half, pushing their cushion to 24 after a Collins free throw with 16 minutes left in the contest and later leading by as many as 29 at 63-34. Regis would get no closer than 20 the rest of the way as Babson came away with the 65-45 victory.