Women's hoops falls in NEWMAC Tournament opening round

February 21, 2006

SOUTH HADLEY, MA- The seventh-seeded Wheaton College women's basketball team dropped a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament first round game at number two Mount Holyoke College, 81-58 on Tuesday night. Wheaton completes the season at 14-12, matching its most wins since 1999-2000, while the hosts improved to 19-5 and will take on third-seeded Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Saturday's semifinal round at Springfield College.

Freshman Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) got the visitors on the board first with a jumper at 19:29, but Mount Holyoke tallied the next nine points as three players scored. Wheaton twice rallied to within five, but the hosts broke open an 18-10 game at 12:30 with a 15-0 run, holding the Blue and White scoreless for a stretch of 8:47. Sophomore Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) tried to carry her team back, scoring nine straight Wheaton points at one juncture, but Mount Holyoke's big run gave it a 37-17 halftime advantage.

Wheaton was outshot in the first half, 41.4 percent to 32.0 percent, but saw Mount Holyoke go 10-of-12 on free throws while the visitors missed all four of their attempts. Aitchison finished with nine of the Blue and White's 17 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots. Senior Joneé Billy (New York, NY/Environmental Studies) nearly had a double-double at the half for Mount Holyoke with 11 points and nine rebounds, as the hosts held a 25-9 edge on the boards.

After the teams combined for 54 first-half points, the game took a turn toward offense in the second period, during which 85 points were put on the board. However, the Blue and White never trailed by fewer than 18, as Mount Holyoke led by as many as 30 on two occasions. During an 18:24 span in the middle of the game, Aitchison and freshman Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) tallied 19 straight Wheaton points.

Hickey notched 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting while turning in four steals. The first-year player finished the season with the school's freshman record of 368 points, the ninth-highest single-season total in program history. Aitchison added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, as she and Hickey combined to tally 14 of the Blue and White's 23 field goals. Smith finished with eight points, while freshman Brandee Williams-Epes (Queens, NY/Renaissance Charter School) netted seven points in five minutes off the bench. Wheaton shot 11-of-12 from the line in the second half.

Mount Holyoke was led by a balanced scoring effort, as four of its starters combined for 61 points. Billy led the way with 18 points and 15 rebounds, senior Christine Godin (Fitchburg, MA/North Middlesex) had 16 points and six steals, junior Angela Astuccio (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) tallied 14 points and eight boards, and classmate Joeanna Silvey (Boston, MA/Thayer Academy) had 13 points and four steals. The hosts pulled away thanks to 56 percent second-half shooting, and they went 26-of-34 for the game on free throws. Mount Holyoke corralled 19 steals on 22 Wheaton turnovers and held a 44-25 rebounding advantage.

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