Lyon women set to host NEWMAC basketball final four

February 28, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team is gearing up to host its second New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal and final rounds this weekend, as the top-seeded Lyons welcome fourth seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to Emerson Gymnasium on Saturday. Wheaton hosted the 1999 tournament final four but hasn't hosted a league tourney semifinal in which it played since the 1990 New England Women's 8 Conference (NEW 8) Tournament.

The Lyons face the Engineers at 1:00 p.m. in a rematch of last year's tournament semifinal, won by WPI in Harrington Auditorium, as the teams swap location and seeding for this year's meeting. The top four seeds advanced during Wednesday's opening round, as number two United States Coast Guard Academy squares off against third-seeded Springfield College in Saturday's second semifinal at 3:00 p.m. Saturday's winners will be pitted in Sunday's championship tilt at 1:00 p.m., with the tournament crown and an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

Wheaton, which has won 16 of its last 18 games, downed number eight Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 79-36 last night and raised its all-time league tournament home mark to 11-0, while WPI posted a 50-41 win over fifth seed Babson College. Saturday's meeting will be the sixth conference tourney affair between the Lyons and Engineers, with Wheaton taking the first five before falling last season. During the regular season, the Blue and White swept WPI, winning 70-68 at home on January 16 and 60-44 in Worcester on February 16.

With a 20-6 record thus far, the Lyons reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1994-95 and just the fourth time overall. The 1994-95 season was the second and most recent NCAA Tournament appearance for Wheaton. Winning all but one of its 13 conference games this winter, the Blue and White's 12 league triumphs are a program best. The Lyons have also been difficult to beat on their home court, going 13-1 this year and winning 24 of their last 27 in Norton since December 2006. WPI is 15-9 overall and posted a 9-4 NEWMAC mark, as the Engineers have recorded victories in 14 of their last 19 games after beginning the year at 1-4.

For the second straight season, the Lyons have been one of the conference's top offensive squads, leading the 10-team league in several categories. Wheaton is first in scoring offense (67.5 points per game), scoring margin (+10.6), field goal percentage (.431) and free throw shooting (.742). In fact, the Lyons' free throw percentage was good enough for 18th nationally coming into the week. The Blue and White also paces the NEWMAC in assists (17.2), which ranked 16th nationally prior to Wednesday's game, steals (10.4), turnover margin (+4.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0). WPI is tops in the league in scoring defense (50.6) and rebounding defense (35.9).

Junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) leads a squad which has used the same starting lineup for 25 of its 26 games. Becoming just the ninth player in program history to record 1,000 career points, she paces a balanced scoring attack with an average of 13.2 points. She also leads the squad by shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 48.1 percent from three-point territory. As the only NEWMAC player to be among the top five in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point shooting and free throw percentage (.767), Hickey is second on Wheaton in rebounding (5.8) and third in each assists (68) and steals (37).

Sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) has had a breakout season, leading Wheaton in blocks (47) and rebounding (6.6) while ranking second in scoring (12.7). Senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) is tops for steals (56), second in field goal shooting (.496) and assists (85), and third in rebounding (5.1). Junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford) averages 8.6 points, while sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) scores 7.7 points per game and hands out 4.5 assists per outing.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/28/08.
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