Women’s Basketball vs. Norwich
Monday, December 2 | 7 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 1-0 all-time against Norwich n a series that dates back to 2002.
• Monday’s matchup will be the first all-time between the Beavers and Cadets in the regular season.
LAST MEETING
• Babson defeated Norwich, 66-59, in an ECAC Tournament semifinal on March 2, 2002, in Plymouth, N.H.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (3-3) has won two of its last three games after defeating Brandeis, 63-52, last Tuesday in Waltham, Mass.
• Senior Katelyn Mollica scored a game-high 17 points, classmate Camilla Silk posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Samantha Reale added 14 points and a season-high 10 boards for the Beavers, who pulled away with a 14-5 fourth-quarter run.
• Mollica (16.0 pts, 2.7 reb) has scored in double figures in four consecutive games, Reale (13.8 pts, 5.2 reb, 3.0 stl) has reached double figures in five of six starts and leads the team in steals, and Silk (7.8 pts, 6.3 reb) is shooting a team-best 55.6 percent from the floor.
• The Green and White, which has held five of its first six opponents to 65 points or less, owns a +5.2 rebounding margin and is holding foes to just 36.2 percent shooting.
SCOUTING THE CADETS
• Norwich (4-1) has won four consecutive games after beating Plymouth State 56-47 in its home opener back on November 23.
• Kiley O’Brien scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, Maren McGinn scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Haley Brewster added 12 points and four assists for the Cadets, who built a 27-15 halftime lead and forced 30 turnovers while limiting the Panthers to 3-of-25 shooting (12 percent) from three-point range in the victory.
• Brewster (15.8 pts, 4.6 reb, 3.2 ast) has reached double figures in scoring in 31 straight games going back to the end of the 2022-23 campaign, McGinn (14.6 pts, 6.8 reb) is shooting 58 percent from the floor and O’Brien (9.8 pts, 7.2 reb) leads the team in rebounding.
• Norwich owns a +7.8 rebounding margin and has held its first five opponents to 51.2 points on just 26.9 percent shooting.
THREE IS KEY
• With the exception of its loss to No. 1/1 NYU back on November 9, the Green and White has outscored its other five opponents from behind the three-point line.
• The Beavers have made seven or more three-pointers in three of their last four outings and are shooting 35.4 during this stretch.
• Babson ranks 37th in Division III holding its opponents to just 22 percent shooting from beyond the arc, and Norwich is shooting just 25.4 percent from long range over its first five games.
RARE GNAC MATCHUP
• Monday’s matchup will be the first for Babson against a member of the GNAC since 2021 when it cruised to a pair of wins over New England College during the pandemic-shortened season.
• Over the last decade, the Beavers have played just five games against GNAC foes, which includes opening the 2017-18 campaign with an 81-64 win over Saint Joseph’s (Maine) and splitting a pair of games against Emmanuel in 2014 and 2015.
CLEAING THE GLASS
• Silk (11), Reale (10) and Mollica (6) all recorded new season highs as the Beavers outrebounded Brandeis 46-36 last Tuesday.
• The Beavers grabbed a season-high 20 offensive boards in the win over the Judges and have now won the rebounding battle in five of their first six opponents to begin the season.
BEAVER BITES
• Reale has at least one steal in 15 consecutive games going back to last season and has recorded multiple steals 13 times during this stretch, which includes each of the last four games.
• Mollica ranks 15th in Division III in three-point field goals (19) and 19th in three-pointers per game (3.17).
• Senior Emily Flynn is shooting 50 percent (8-of-16) from behind the arc over the last four games and set a new season high with five assists at Brandeis last Tuesday.
• Since finishing 1-of-7 in an OT loss to Bridgewater State back on November 13, Silk is shooting 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) from the floor over the last three contests.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 3-0 this season when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
• The Beavers are 2-1 this year and 16-6 since the start of last season when scoring at least 60 points.
• The Green and White is 12-3 going back to the start of last year when shooting 40 percent or better.
• Going back to last January, Babson has won 11 of its last 13 games when committing 17 turnovers or fewer.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers will break for finals before traveling to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Webster and Franklin & Marshall in the Music City Classic on December 19-20.
