Sid Joyce-Farley ’20
Contributing Writer
Top-seeded Smith basketball suffered a bitter defeat this Saturday in the NEWMAC semifinal, falling to Massachusetts Institute of Technology 51-64.
This loss marks an end to the Pioneers’ season, shattering hopes of a NEWMAC championship title and leaving their final record at 20-6.
The Pioneers tallied one win and one loss against MIT in the regular season. Smith lost 52-69 at MIT back in November, but came out strong at home to earn a close 62-57 win in January.
At 1 p.m., Ainsworth Gym was buzzing with fans, with an especially supportive presence from other members of Smith Athletics.
Smith took and held the game’s momentum in the first quarter. The Pioneers managed to suffocate the MIT offense, playing a tight and clean defensive game.
On the other end, Smith began to take the lead. Forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett ’19 made the first basket of the game, followed up by point guard Lauren Bondi ’19, who drained a 3-pointer from the corner of the court.
Smith continued to choke MIT’s offense for the first five minutes, until the Smith defense missed two lunges for the ball and left MIT with a clean shot. Still, Smith maintained their lead to end the first quarter up 15-8.
In the second quarter, the MIT offense came alive.
While Smith initially maintained the lead, MIT steadily narrowed the gap, ending the first half on a 9-0 run that left the score at 25-26.
These last minutes of the first half marked the beginning of Smith’s uphill battle as the Pioneers struggled to score; they missed repeated shots while MIT continued to sneak points through Smith’s defense.
The one-point score differential felt heavy as the second half began. Smith needed to generate offense, but the hoop was elusive.
At first, Smith’s only points came from free throws; guard Meghan Holland ’18 and Guest-Pritchett each diligently hit both their shots, but they couldn’t shake the stagnancy of Smith’s offense in regular play, and MIT responded with baskets in the other end.
Then, at 5:18, Bondi scored another 3-pointer for Smith’s first non-free throw basket of the second half, tying the score at 32. Smith was able to take the tide briefly, but MIT battled back and the quarter ended with the Pioneers trailing 36-38.
Entering the final quarter, MIT had the momentum of the game.
The Engineers continued to push forward, nailing a 3-pointer for the first basket of the quarter and widening the gap.
If Smith started strong by clamping down on the MIT offense, that iron grip had loosened over the course of the game, and Smith’s defense began to look scattered.
With the game now in Bonus, fouls on both offense and defense simultaneously dampened the Pioneers’ attack and allowed MIT to rack up extra points on free throws.
With five minutes left, the score differential had broadened to a 12 point gap. Smith continued a persistent attack, but scoring proved a struggle. Smith shot 29 percent overall, compared with MIT’s 42.9 percent.
As the clock ran down and the MIT lead failed to shrink, each shot the Pioneers sent up felt more like a prayer.
The game closed with a buzzer-beating 2-pointer from MIT for a final score of 51-64.
Smith’s seniors were thanked with applause and a cheer from the crowd as the team left the court. MIT went on to defeat Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the championship matchup Sunday 54-50.
As disheartened Smith fans began to file out, one parent summed it up, “Well, you win some, you lose some.”
No one knows the truth of this better than these lifelong athletes — but true as it is, the “some” you lose are not always the NEWMAC semifinal. It is far from disparaging Smith basketball to say: Let them be frustrated. They worked hard to get there, and not a single player on the court came to the tournament to stop at the semifinal.
Smith was not gifted the No. 1 seed in the tournament; they earned it.
Allow them a moment of disappointment, because what these athletes also know best is that next season’s growth is already beginning. Nothing heightens a team’s thirst for victory more than the word “almost.”
