Wellesley Falls To Springfield In NEWMAC Final

SPRINGFIELD, MA. - Six Wellesley College first-year basketball players want to be in Springfield College's position in 2005. Rest assured, so does head coach Kathy Hagerstrom.

Playing in the NEWMAC final for the third year in a row, and second straight against Springfield, Wellesley fell to the Pride, 64-46 in front of 592 fans Saturday evening at Blake Arena.

Springfield (24-3) will represent the NEWMAC in the NCAA Division III Championship, which begins Wednesday. Selections are due to be announced today and Springfield will be making its third appearance in the NCAA Championship. This is only its second, however, as a Division III program.

Wellesley (16-8) entered the game hoping The Birthplace of Basketball would spawn its second NCAA bid in three seasons. Hagerstrom and company now await an ECAC New England Championship bid for the second straight season.

Springfield and its five seniors are the envy of Hagerstrom and Wellesley, which battled through a 16-8 season with six first-years. This was a team that opened the season 4-4 and went through some growing pains early in the year. Rebuilding may not be the word after two consecutive 20-plus win seasons, but there were challenges to be met.

"We have a first-year class of six and by the time they graduate I want to be Springfield," Hagerstrom said.

The challenges Springfield posed, however, were only answered for the first 30 minutes of this game. After falling behind 12-2 and 14-4 in the first half, Wellesley rallied behind the perimeter shooting of junior Christine Carbonello, who scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half. Wellesley took its first lead, 27-24, after a Carbonello trey with 3:57 remaining.

"I was OK with the way we started," Hagerstrom said. "I knew we'd rebound."

Wellesley was able to continually penetrate the Pride's defense in the first half, allowing for layups or easy dishes, which resulted in baskets.

"We didn't do a real good job of stopping the dribble penetration," said Springfield head coach Naomi Graves. "The whole world knew that."

Springfield led 30-27 at the half, but Wellesley once again made its way back into the game. First-year Kristin Doeberl's basket with 17:07 remaining in the game gave Wellesley its largest lead of the game. Junior Kate Lyren put Wellesley up a final time, 40-38 after a nifty steal and layup with 10:16 remaining.

Due in most part to free throws down the stretch, Springfield outscored Wellesley, 26-6, over the final 10:16 of the game. At one point, Wellesley, which shot 24 percent from the floor in the second half, scored just two points during an 8:35 time frame.

"This was a typical Springfield-Wellesley game," Graves said. "We are both defensive-minded coaches. It was a chess match."

Hagerstrom, however, pointed out Springfield's knack for the second half - and for being the favorite.

"Springfield, if you look at them statistically, is a second half team," she said. "I think Springfield had a ton of pressure on them. They were supposed to win." Springfield got the most out of its three seniors.

Led by Kelly Thompson's 15 points, three seniors scored in double figures for the Pride. Becky Kanupka scored 14 points, while Kristy Murray posted 12. Junior Janna Dietz grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as Springfield outrebounded Wellesley, 40-27, including a 17-11 edge on the offensive glass.

Carbonello was one of two Wellesley players in doubles figures. Lyren added 11. Fellow junior Kelly Grover was solid in the paint, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking six shots.

Regardless of their NCAA fate, Springfield has already set a school record for consecutive wins with 16 and matched its mark for wins in a season with 24.

Wellesley, which advanced to the ECAC New England Championship final a year ago, potentially could host a first-round game when the bids are announced. Regardless of opponent, Hagerstrom and her six first-years have a shot at three more games this year to hone their skills - and three more years to dethrone Springfield as queens of the NEWMAC.