THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT - 73, Emmanuel - 55
 
- Records: MIT (1-0), Emmanuel (0-1)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
 
- The Lead: Led by 28 points from graduate student Christina Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) the MIT women's basketball team opened the 2023-24 campaign with a 73-55 win over Emmanuel on Wednesday night at Rockwell Cage.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

- The Engineers jumped out to a fast lead as a three from junior Sarah Berman (York, Pa.) gave MIT a 10-3 lead at 7:39 in the first. Junior Angie Choi (Cypress, Calif.) followed with another three at 6:52 to increase the Engineers' lead to 13-5. Two free throws from Allison Wild (Tewksbury, Mass.) with 32 seconds left in the first cut the MIT lead down to four at 17-13.
 
- After a Desiree Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) layup got the Saints to within two, Antonakakis hit a jumper that kick-started a 9-4 MIT run to put the Engineers up 26-19. Antonakakis tallied seven of the nine points during the run. With 58 seconds left in the half, sophomore Kaya Weiser (Villanova, Pa.) hit a three to send MIT into the break with a 34-24 lead.
 
- Choi hit a layup at 8:36 to make it a 38-29 MIT lead, but Emmanuel slowly chipped away at the lead, and a Kaityln Bartash (Standish, Maine) layup got the Saints to within seven with 1:40 left in the third stanza. A jumper from sophomore Brianna Lebrun (Hartford, Conn.) followed by a three from Weiser put MIT back up by double-digits, 53-41.
 
- A 7-2 run to open the final quarter cut the MIT lead to 58-52, but back-to-back threes from Antonakakis and Choi put MIT up 64-52. The Engineers continued to build on their lead, finishing the game on a 9-3 run to take the 73-55 win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Antonakakis finished with 28 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
 
- Choi poured in 13 points with four assists and three steals, and sophomore Alice Hall (Ambler, Pa.) added 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
- Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) led Emmanuel with 12 points followed by Paris Atuahene (Pheonix, Ariz.) with 10.
 
UP NEXT:

- MIT will take to the road for a weekend slate of games at the NYU Tip-Off Tournament. The Engineers will face hosts NYU on Friday, November 10th at 5:00 p.m. The Saints will host Emerson on Tuesday, November 14 at 5:00 p.m.

**Release courtesy MIT Athletic Communications