Lyons match school's league wins mark with 64-54 decision over Wellesley

February 13, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team matched last year's program-best nine league victories Wednesday night against Wellesley College, as the Lyons downed the visitors, 64-54 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton, which remained in a tie for first place in the conference standings at 9-1, improved to 16-6 overall in collecting its 12th win in 14 games. Wellesley falls to 6-14 and 3-7.

The two teams took part in a back-and-forth battle for the entire opening half, with neither squad leading by more than five points. The first frame witnessed five lead changes and four ties. With the hosts in a 24-21 hole with 3:36 remaining in the first stanza, back-to-back lay-ups from junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) gave the Lyons a 25-24 edge and the game's final lead change.

Four straight free throws, including three by junior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South), made it 29-24 and capped an 8-0 run during a 2:55 span. Two Wellesley freebies closed out the first-half scoring. Champney and junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) carried the offensive load by combining to score Wheaton's initial 18 points after shooting 8-of-11 through the first 13:37. Champney and Hickey totaled 20 points in the first half, while junior Julia Thomas (Concord, CA/Northgate) led the visitors with nine.

Each team scored seven points in the first 4:23 of the second half before the Lyons slowly began to pull away. Tallying nine of the game's next 10 points, Wheaton capped its run on five straight Hickey points in 36 seconds. The Blue and White maintained its double-digit advantage for nearly the remainder of regulation, extending out to 13 on two occasions, with the latter taking place on a lay-up by senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) with 1:57 to go. Wellesley outshot the hosts, 45 percent to 38.9 percent in the half, but Wheaton committed just four turnovers to the visitors' 14.

Champney and Hickey paced the Lyons with 17 points apiece. Hickey made 7-of-11 to go along with her game-high-tying nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Champney shot 8-of-15 and grabbed five boards, while Aitchison finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) added five boards and a game-best four steals.

For Wellesley, junior Jessica Duff (Abingdon, United Kingdom/Saline) tallied 19 points and nine rebounds. Thomas accounted for 13 points and nine boards, while freshman Katie Frett (Hallowell, ME/Hall-Dale) posted 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Katie Martore (Great Falls, VA/The Potomac School) distributed a game-high seven assists.

The Lyons take to the road for the final time during the regular season on Saturday, when they will face Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the teams' second meeting of the winter at 1:00 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/13/08.
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