By james art 
Cambridge, Massachusetts — Elise Harvey (Wayland, MA) and Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, IL) combined for 19 second points to lift host MIT to a 56-50 victory over WPI in a NEWMAC women’s basketball game at the Rockwell Cage on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams are now 7-10 overall as MIT remains undefeated in NEWMAC action at 3-0 while WPI falls to 0-3 in conference contests
The opening quarter was uneventful throughout, with MIT pushing a slim lead to four at 12-8 on Sarah Berman (York, Pa.) Three-pointer with 1:09 left in the frame, but WPI Shannon Reno (Millbury, Mass.) countered with a trey of his own two possessions later to cut the visitors’ deficit to one heading into the second. The Worcester Engineers got a boost off the bench from Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, Conn.) connected on a pair of trifectas in the second 10 minutes and their defense limited the hosts to just six points on 16.7 percent shooting from the floor en route to a 26-18 halftime advantage.
The host Engineers used a balanced offense to outscore WPI 19-11 in the third quarter and were poised to end the frame ahead, but for the second time on the day, Reno closed out a quarter with a 3-pointer to send the teams into the final quarter tied at 37.
Giansiracusa led three WPI players in double figures with 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. The sophomore also had six rebounds. Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) and Megan Stone (Hanson, MA) scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, while both pulled down three boards. Caitlin Dasaro (Fairfield, VT) set a career high with 10 rebounds – five each offensively and defensively – and Reno finished with eight points and a team-best four assists.
Nwogu finished with 14 points for the hosts, while Harvey scored a total of 12 points Angie Choi (Cypress, CA) contributed 10 and led all players with five assists. Berman grabbed seven boards and Nwogu added six rebounds and a pair of steals for MIT.
The two teams shot nearly equally from the field, with WPI at a 36.6 percent clip (19-for-52) and MIT at 36.2 (17-for-47), but the home team built separation at the free throw line, where made 16-of-22 attempts (72.7%), while WPI was just 5-of-7 (71.4%).
Both teams continue conference play next Wednesday. WPI tangles with Mount Holyoke in Worcester at 7:30 p.m., while MIT travels to face Wellesley in a 7:00 p.m.