2008 NEWMAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT - Wheaton defeats WPI, 59-53, reaches first league title game in 13 years

March 1, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team advanced to its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship game and initial league title contest in 13 years Saturday, as the top-seeded Lyons defeated fourth seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 59-53 in a semifinal contest at Emerson Gymnasium.

Upping its all-time conference tourney home record to 12-0, Wheaton matched the program's third-highest season win total, raising its record to 21-6. Riding a six-game unbeaten stretch while earning their 17th victory in 19 games, the Lyons will face third seed Springfield College in tomorrow's championship game at 1:00 p.m., with an NCAA Tournament automatic berth on the line. WPI ends its season at 15-10.

The hosts appeared to be in control early in the second half, turning a 13-point halftime advantage into a 19-point cushion at 40-21 with 16:19 remaining, but a furious WPI rally brought the Engineers all the way back to 50-48 at the 4:29 mark. WPI held the Lyons to one field goal for nearly seven minutes, trimming its deficit to 43-35 at 9:50. During the Engineers' 27-10 run, sophomore Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME/Bangor) poured in 10 points, while classmate Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA/Saint Peter-Marian) had nine.

Dubois made a lay-up with 2:29 on the clock to again bring WPI within two at 52-50 before three straight points from junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) pushed the Wheaton lead to five with 1:37 to play. Selen drained a three 24 seconds later to make it 55-53 and, following two Lyon misses, the Engineers had a potential game-tying lay-up attempt fall off the mark with 21 ticks on the clock. The Blue and White answered with four free throws over 13.1 seconds, as senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) and sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) sandwiched two freebies each around another WPI miss to secure the win.

The opening half started slowly for both teams, as the game was tied at five up until WPI hit a lay-up with 12:11 to go. The Lyons then used a 7-0 run during 1:23 to take a 12-7 advantage. With Wheaton clinging to a 9-7 edge with 10:16 to play before halftime, junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) took over, connecting on five threes and tallying 17 points in 6:34 to give the hosts a 30-14 lead at 2:44. The Blue and White led 32-19 at the break.

Smith led all scorers in the first half of action, making 5-of-8 from the three-point line, as Wheaton committed just three turnovers while shooting at a 41.7 percent clip. The Lyons also made 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Engineers shot 30.4 percent from the floor while making just 22.2 percent beyond the arc and 42.9 percent at the free throw line. WPI also turned the ball over nine times. Selen had eight points.

Smith finished the game with those 17 first-half points, and Hickey accounted for 16 points and eight rebounds. Aitchison posted 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, while sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) finished with eight boards.

Selen tallied 20 points and nine rebounds, and Dubois had 14 points, eight boards and four steals. Senior Kate Maki (Fitchburg, MA/Saint Bernard's Central Catholic) recorded seven points, while junior Natasha Deschene (Presque Isle, ME/Presque Isle) added five points, six rebounds and three assists.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 3/1/08.
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