Wheaton 70, WPI 68

Box Score

Norton, MA --- Junior Krystin Hickey's (Manchester, NH) reverse left-handed bank shot from the middle of the key with 2.3 seconds remaining pushed the Wheaton College women's basketball team to a 70-68 victory over WPI during a frantic finish Wednesday night in Emerson Gymnasium.
 
Wheaton, which improved to 10-4 overall and 3-0 in league play, avenged last year's ECAC Tournament championship game loss to the Engineers, as the two teams faced each other four times a season ago.  WPI slipped under .500 at 6-7 and 1-2.
 
Hickey's dramatic winner snapped a 68-all score, as the Engineers forced the fifth tie of the half thanks to a lay-up from sophomore Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA) with 12.5 ticks to play.  On Wheaton's ensuing possession, sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA) fed the ball into Hickey, who also earned a trip to the charity stripe following a WPI foul.  Following an Engineer timeout, Hickey proceeded to miss the free throw, and a WPI player corralled the rebound before time expired.
 
In the second half, neither team held more than a five-point advantage through nearly 12 minutes of action.  A three off the hands of Wheaton junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA) at the eight-minute mark provided the Lyons with a 53-45 lead, but seven straight Engineer points made it a one-point game with 6:46 to play.  The rest of the way included six lead changes and four ties with neither team leading by more than three.
 
To start the game, the Lyons used hot shooting to sprint out to a 17-4 advantage by the 13:38 mark, knocking down eight of nine from the field, as six different Wheaton players scored during the stretch.  The hosts eventually rattled off six straight points to secure their biggest lead of the half at 25-10 with 8:06 to go.  WPI slowly chipped away at its deficit, taking advantage of 11 Lyon turnovers during the final 7:40 while holding the Blue and White to six points.
 
Despite outshooting and outrebounding the visitors, Wheaton only held a 31-28 edge at the half, as the Lyons committed 18 giveaways.  The Lyons shot 58.3 percent from the field and outrebounded the Engineers, 20-10, but WPI had a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Champney led all scorers with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks for the Lyons, who finished at a 54.4 percent shooting clip, the highest percentage WPI has allowed in 61 games.  Senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.  Smith finished with nine points and five boards, while Hickey had eight markers and six boards.
 
Selen paced WPI with team highs of 14 points, six rebounds and five steals to go alongside four assists, while freshman Elle Fontaine (Franklin, MA) posted a career-high-tying 12 points.  Caitlin Macko (Cromwell, CT) and Rachel Salvatori (Williston, VT) each added nine points while Kate Maki (Fitchburg, MA) chipped in with eight.   Salvatori eclipsed her career-best, which had been established last February in WPI's NEWMAC Tournament semifinal victory over the Lyons.    

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday for the third contest of their four-game homestand against conference foe Smith College at 1:00pm.  WPI also plays next on Saturday, hosting city rival Clark at 2pm.

Release Courtesy Wheaton Sports Information