Lyons win first NEWMAC regular season title, down Clark, 71-50

February 23, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team won its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season championship in the 10-year history of the league on Saturday afternoon, downing Clark University, 71-50 during Senior Day in Emerson Gymnasium. Matching last year's victory total of 19, Wheaton secures the top seed in next week's eight-team NEWMAC Tournament.

Not only did the Lyons capture their first NEWMAC title, but they also won their first regular season conference crown in 13 years, dating back to the New England Women's 8 Conference (NEW 8). Wheaton won its fourth straight game while earning a victory for the 15th time in its last 17 contests to improve to 19-6 overall and 12-1 in league play. The Cougars slipped to 8-16 and 4-9, earning the tournament's seventh seed.

Outside of four ties through the first 9:31 of play and one short-lived lead by Clark, the hosts led for nearly the entire game. Leading 17-15 with 7:40 remaining in the opening stanza, Wheaton held the Cougars without a field goal for 7:01 while going on a 12-2 run during 4:12 to make the score 29-17 in favor of the Lyons. Sophomore Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) had six points and two steals during that stretch.

Wheaton held a 31-21 halftime advantage, outrebounding the Cougars, 26-15. Two of the Lyons' top three scoring leaders were held without a point through the first 20 minutes, but sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) picked up the slack in tallying 10 points, six blocks and five rebounds. Kruse and junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) chipped in with eight points each.

In the second half, Clark narrowed its gap to eight three times, with the latter coming on a jumper from sophomore Ruth Briggs (Sanford, ME/Sanford) at 16:56, but Champney scored the next five points and the Lyons maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Wheaton turned a 10-point advantage with under 12 minutes to go into an 18-point cushion at 7:51. The hosts pushed their lead out to as many as 23 points with 2:07 left.

For the game, the Lyons held the Cougars to just 25.8 percent (16-62) shooting from the floor and 12.5 percent (3-24) from three-point territory. Clark also only made 57.7 percent (15-26) of its free throws. Conversely, Wheaton knocked down 80.0 percent (16-20) from the charity stripe and 41.0 percent (25-61) of its field goals, including 48.3 percent (14-29) in the second half. The Blue and White finished with a 47-39 rebounding edge.

Champney completed an all-around solid performance with 21 points, nine rebounds and a career-best six blocks. Her block total tied for second in the Wheaton annals for most rejections in a game, missing the school mark by one. Smith tallied 13 points, sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) turned in 12 points, seven boards and three steals, while Kruse rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) tallied seven boards and seven assists during her home regular season finale.

Junior Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, ME/Messalonskee) paced the Cougars with 16 points and eight rebounds. Briggs accounted for 12 points, while sophomore Jillian Camilleri (Lancaster, MA/Nashoba Regional) had six points and eight boards. Junior Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) handed out five assists.

Wheaton hosts eighth seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in tournament first-round action on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Should the Lyons defeat MIT, they will remain at home for next Saturday's semifinal round and Sunday's final.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/23/08.
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