Barrett Scores 1000th, Owls Fall 108-100 in Overtime

WESTFIELD, Mass.  –  Westfield State's Lucy Barrett (Mt. Greylock/Williamstown, Mass.) and Smith College's Lauren Biondi  (Notre Dame Secondary/Burnaby, B.C.) each scored their 1000^th career points, as Smith rallied past Westfield in a overtime barn-burner, 108-100 at the Woodward Center.

Barrett finished with a career high 32, while Biondi netted 38 for the Pioneers while shooting 19-22 from the foul line.  The scoring duel between the two guards overshadowed a 33-point, 28-rebound effort from Smith 6-foot senior center Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Lawrenceville/Fairburn, Ga.).

Westfield (4-4) held a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter and led by as many as 11, but Smith (7-3) rallied late, grabbing its first lead of the game with 38 seconds left in regulation, on an and-1 three-point play by Katy McClellan (Palmyra Area/Palmyra, Ga.) to give the Pioneers a 94-92 lead.

Westfield answered with a three-pointer from Melissa Gray (Peabody, Mass.) to take the lead back 95-94, and after an Owls steal and a foul, Gray went to the line and made one of two free throws to give Westfield a 96-94 lead.

Biondi was fouled on a drive to the hoop with five seconds left in regulation, and hit both shots to tie the game at 96-all.

Barrett laid a runner off the glass as time expired in regulation, but the shot wouldn't go down.

The Owls went ice-cold in the overtime, shooting 1-10 from the floor and making just two of six free throws in the extra session.

Smith took the lead for good, 102-100 with two free throws from Biondi with 3:30 left in overtime.  The extra session was a war of attrition as five Westfield State and one Smith player fouled out, and Smith was just 4-9 from the line in overtime as well.

Biondi, a 5-6 senior guard, hit the 1000-point mark exactly with her final made free throw of the night.

Barrett, a 5-6 senior guard, netted her 1000^th on a third-quarter drive, entering the game needing 13 points to hit the mark.  Barrett finished with a career-high 32 on 10-27 shooting, 3-10 from downtown, and 9-10 at the foul line.  She now has 1,019 and moves into 15^th on the Owls all-time scoring list.

Gray finished with 17 points as the only other Westfield player in double figures.

Smith got 16 rebounds from Stephanie Foukaris (Pascal English/Nicosia, Cyprus), and McLellan added 20 points and nine rebounds.

Westfield forced 46 turnovers from the Pioneers, but Smith finished 33-52 at the foul line, both records for a Westfield State opponent.

It's the second time in three years that Smith came away with an overtime win at westfield, as the Pioneers were 111-103 winners in a similar fashion at the Woodward Center in 2016.

Westfield State will play one more game before the semester break, as the Owls host Springfield College in another local rivalry game on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Woodward Center.

Smith is idle until December 30 when they host the College of New Jersey with a 2:00 p.m. tip in Northampton.