Springfield, Mass. - January 2, 2022 - The Springfield College women's basketball program came away with a 64-56 win over Union College in the final day of the Hampton Inn/West Springfield Naismith Classic on Sunday afternoon in Blake Arena.

Springfield, who is ranked No. 17 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Poll, matches their best start in program history with a 12-0 record. Union College falls to 3-6 on the season. Union edged Springfield on the glass, 43-42, while the Pride scored 15 points off of Union turnovers in the victory.

Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) continued her impressive play with a game-high 20 points , 11 rebounds, and four blocks. Grace Dzindolet (Holliston, Mass.) poured in 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) directed the offense, dropping seven assists with no turnovers, to go along with six points and four rebounds.

Kendall Degenhardt scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Dutchwomen. Amber Raisner added 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the setback.

The Dutchwomen took an early 7-3 lead at the 7:17 mark in the first quarter after a layup from Olivia Pachla. The Pride would regain the lead with triples on back-to-back possessions with the latter coming from Stephanie Lyons (Boston, Mass.) on a skip pass from Vinton, which made the score 9-7 with 5:33 to go. Hourihan would sink another three and score in the post to give Springfield a 14-9 lead with 1:14 remaining. 

At the 7:37 mark in the second quarter, Amber Raisner capped off a 9-0 run for Union with a jumper that gave the Dutchwomen a 18-14 lead over the host and forced a Springfield timeout. The Pride would regain a 23-21 lead with a little over five minutes left as Lyons would strip the ball away from Degenhardt and throw it ahead to Dzindolet for the fast break bucket. Springfield would build on its run midway through the second quarter with an excellent effort on the offensive glass, resulting in three second chances buckets for the Pride. The scoring run was capped off at 3:55 with an inside putback from Kayla Madden (Ashland, Mass.), which made the score 27-21 in favor of Springfield. The Dutchwomen pulled within three after a pair of free throws from Degenhardt with 43 seconds remaining in the half, before Dzindolet would knock down her second three of the game to give Springfield a 33-27 halftime edge.

Halfway through the third quarter, Springfield increased its lead to double-digits at 41-29 as Lyons swung the ball to Hourihan for the three. Lee and Raisner would each score inside on back-to-back possessions for Union to cut the score to 44-35 with two minutes remaining, however, Riley Robinson (Adams, Mass.) and Jaelen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) each cashed in a three to give Springfield a 50-37 lead with one quarter to play. 

Starting at the 3:58 mark in the fourth quarter, Vinton scored three-straight baskets to help separate Springfield from Union, and gave the Pride a 64-47 lead with 2:40 left in the contest. The basket by Vinton proved to be Springfield's largest lead of the afternoon and allowed for the Pride to seal the victory. 

Springfield will host Smith College on Saturday at 1:00. 

2021-22 Hampton Inn/West Springfield Naismith Classic All-Tournament Team

Amber Raisner (Union)
Olivia Pachla (Union)
Jenna Serrantino (Eastern Connecticut)
Rachel Vinton (Springfield)
Grace Dzindolet (Springfield)
Sam Hourihan (Springfield) - Tournament MVP

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