Women's Basketball 2/28/2009 12:00:00 AM

Wheaton Upsets Women's Basketball in NEWMAC Semifinal

Wheaton 62, WPI 58

Worcester, MA --- Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA) drained four free throws in the final 10.8 seconds of the game, lifting fourth-seeded and defending tournament champion Wheaton to a 62-58 upset victory over top-seeded WPI in the NEWMAC Women's Basketball Semifinal Saturday afternoon at Harrington Auditorium. With the win, Wheaton (17-10) moves on to the NEWMAC Championship game, which will be held at noon on Sunday at WPI. The Engineers fall to 21-6 and await word on Monday about a possible postseason bid.

The contest was close throughout with the game featuring 11 ties and 14 lead changes between the two teams, who have now played 10 times in the last three years. With WPI leading 55-54 with 1:39 to play, Wheaton was able to take control in the closing minute to come away with a win. A layup by Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH) with 1:11 to go gave Wheaton a one-point lead that they would not relinquish. The Engineers would miss three shots and two free-throws down the stretch, forcing them to foul to regain possession late in the game. Wheaton would hit six free-throws in the last 30 seconds, including Bailey's four straight, to claim the hard-fought win.

In a low-scoring opening half of play, both teams battled stingy defense and early foul trouble in combining for only 51 points. Wheaton, in particular, was aggressive on the defensive end, recording seven blocked shots and holding WPI to only 18.8% shooting (6-for-32) from the field, its lowest in a half this season.

Trailing 18-17 at the 4:23 mark, the Lyons benefited from four straight points from Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA) and a three pointer from Bailey to open up the largest lead of the half for either team at 24-18. WPI responded, scoring the next six points in a 34-second span to knot the score at 24, before Wheaton closed out the first half with three free throws to take a 27-24 advantage into the locker room.

WPI found its shots in the second half, climbing back into the game thanks to a double-double from three-time NEWMAC Player of the Week Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME), who posted game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds. It was Dubois' eighth double-double this season and 13th of her career. Sophomore guard Elle Fontaine (Franklin, MA) also was on fire in the second half, hitting three clutch three-pointers and scoring all 15 of her points in the frame. Her back-to-back three-pointers gave WPI its largest lead of the half at 38-33 with 11:37 to play, but the Engineers were unable to hold on for their third win over Wheaton this season.

Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA) was also in double figures for the Engineers, adding 11 points and five rebounds. Senior point guard Natasha Deschene (Presque Isle, ME) filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Wheaton had four players who scored in double figures led by Bailey's 18. The junior also dished out a game-best eight assists. Champney notched a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Bri Smith (Westford, MA) contributed 12 points and Hickey 11 points for the victors. Smith, a senior guard, now has 993 points in her career and is just seven points away from becoming the tenth Lyon to reach 1,000 point milestone.

Wheaton will take on the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between second-seeded Babson and #3 Springfield in the early game of Sunday's NEWMAC Championship doubleheader at WPI. Tipoff will be at 12pm. The NEWMAC Men's Basketball Championship will follow at 2:30pm.

Story written by Ray Cotrufo '98 - WPI Athletics Department