#1 WPI 52, #4 Wheaton 44 (NEWMAC Semifinals)

Worcester, MA --- The top-seeded WPI women's basketball team defeated the fourth-seeded Wheaton College Lyons 52-44 in the NEWMAC semifinals at Harrington Auditorium to advance to their first-ever NEWMAC final.

Freshman guard Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA) led the Engineers seventh-straight win with 13 points, seven boards and a game-high four assists while backcourt mate sophomore Caitlin Macko (Cromwell, CT) added a game-high 15 points and senior forward Meghan Pajonas (Bristol, CT) pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Lyons were led by senior forward Kim McCormack (Milton, MA) who scored a team-high 13 points, pulled down five rebounds and earned a pair of assists. Junior swingman Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT) added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Engineers will face either second-seeded Mount Holyoke or sixth-seeded Babson in Sunday's NEWMAC championship contest. The Engineers had reached the tournament semifinals in four of the last six years but will be making their first appearance in the championship game.

WPI took a 10-point lead into the locker room, holding Wheaton to 27% shooting (7-of-26) in the first half while they knocked down 11 of their 20 first half field goal attempts, including four of five from beyond the arc.

Wheaton took its only lead of the second half, 42-41, on a pair of Aitchison free throws with 3:57 to play.

WPI responded, running off six straight points before a basket by McCormack stopped the run and made it 47-44 with 1:09 remaining.

The Lyons had a chance to tie the game on its ensuing possession before WPI sophomore center Michele Perry (Pelham, MA) stepped in to generate the Lyons 15th turnover.

WPI nearly returned the favor as the Lyons trapped Pajonas in the corner but the 5-11 senior was able to find Selen with a full-court pass that Selen easily converted to make it a 49-44 game with 21 seconds to play. The Engineers closed out the scoring when Selen and Macko combined to drain 3-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds.