ECAC DIVISION III WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT - Wheaton clipped by WPI, 58-57 during first championship game

March 3, 2007

WORCESTER, MA--- The fourth-seeded Wheaton College women's basketball team narrowly fell to number two Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 58-57 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship game on Saturday in Harrington Auditorium. In a rematch of last Saturday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal, the Lyons were unable to get a clean shot off as the buzzer sounded. Wheaton, which advanced to its first ECAC title game, finished the season 19-11 and with its most wins since 1994-95. WPI ended up at 23-7 by winning its first ECAC title since 1987.

The teams battled through three early lead changes before Wheaton sophomore Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) dropped in her first lay-up of the afternoon to give the Lyons an 8-5 advantage at 16:40. The Engineers rallied to tie the score at 11 on junior Kate Maki's (Fitchburg, MA/Saint Bernard's) two free throws with 13:46 remaining in the opening half, but sophomore Bri Smith's (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) spin and lay-up put the Blue and White back in front 12 seconds later.

Wheaton went up by as many as five twice, first when senior Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) hit a lay-up to make it 21-16. At that point, the Lyons were 8-of-10, but the hosts held pace by beginning 7-of-11, and freshman Rachel Salvatori (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) canned a three-pointer to bring the Engineers within 21-19. Senior Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) knocked down a long-range shot to put the visitors back up by five, but WPI scored 10 of the game's next 12 points over a 3:42 stretch, taking the lead at 27-26 on freshman Kaileen Selen's (Worcester, MA/Saint Peter-Marian) three with 5:53 on the clock.

However, Wheaton freshman Jenny Champney's (Bedford, MA/Bedford) three-point play knotted the score at 29, and junior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) hit two free throws at 2:12 to put her squad back on top. The Lyons took a 33-29 halftime edge behind 52.4 percent shooting. WPI shot 44.0 percent.

The Lyons led by six early in the second half, both on Hickey hoops, and Wheaton held a 40-36 edge at 14:45 after a Champney freebie before WPI countered with five straight points, reclaiming the lead on Salvatori's lay-in at 11:54. The teams traded one-point leads seven times in a 4:44 span, as Maki hit a jumper to put WPI up, 47-46 before freshman Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME/Bangor) tallied consecutive lay-ups to make it 51-46.

Wheaton trailed by six with 2:51 to go, but a pair of free throws by McCormack followed by a three-pointer from Sorbara made the score 54-53 with 1:44 left. WPI senior Meghan Pajonas (Bristol, CT/Saint Paul Catholic) made four straight free throws before Sorbara knocked down a jumper, Champney tied up an Engineer to give Wheaton possession, and Hickey hit a lay-up to pull the Lyons within 58-57 with 27.2 seconds left. Champney rebounded a missed WPI free throw attempt with 21 ticks to go, but Wheaton was unable to get a clean look before the buzzer, and time ran out as a desperation three-point try fell short.

Hickey became the fourth player in program history to reach the 400-point plateau in a season behind 18 on 7-of-11 shooting. McCormack tallied 11 points and five rebounds in her final collegiate contest, while Sorbara completed her career with nine points in her 100th game. Aitchison had six points and rebounds, and four assists. Wheaton shot 93.3 percent (14-15) on free throws, the fifth-best showing in program history.

Pajonas, the ECAC Tournament MVP, tallied 20 points, while Selen recorded 10. Maki added six points, five assists and four steals. The Engineers had only 11 turnovers and corralled 10 steals.

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