Women's Basketball Advances to ECAC Tournament Final, 52-43

WPI 52, Emerson 43

Worcester, MA --- Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME) and Natasha Deschene (Presque Isle, ME) each notched double-doubles to help lift second-seeded WPI to a 52-43 victory over sixth-seeded Emerson in an ECAC New England Championship women's basketball semifinal contest Saturday afternoon at WPI's Harrington Auditorium.

With the win, the Engineers improve to 23-6 on the season, equaling the school record for victories in a season with the 1995-96 and 2006-2007 teams.

In Sunday's championship tilt, WPI will face top-seeded Nichols. The Engineers defeated the Bison earlier in the season, 56-48 on November 21st in the opening round of the Worcester City Tournament.

Emerson took its largest lead of the game at 22-13, but the Engineer defense would not allow a Lion field goal during the last 7:40 of the first half and, in the process, embarked upon an 11-1 run to take a 24-23 advantage into the locker room at intermission. The strong defensive effort continued in the second half, as the Engineers held the Lions to 19.4% shooting from the floor after the break.

The Crimson and Gray parlayed 16 Emerson turnovers into 16 points while outscoring the Lions 28-18 in the paint. The visitors received a boost from its bench, as the Emerson reserves outscored its WPI counterparts by a 18-2 margin.

Dubois canned 8-of-13 shots from the floor en route to registering a game-best 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds. It marked her ninth double-double of the season and 14th of her career. Deschene finished with 11 points and 10 boards, marking the fourth time she has reached her career-high in rebounding this season. Caitlin Macko (Cromwell, CT) and Melissa Kuhn (Stoughton, MA) each added eight points.

Lauren Zaniboni (San Diego, CA) paced Emerson with 12 points and game-bests of 13 rebounds and three blocks. Lauren Vassallo (Oxford, CT) chipped in with eight points and 11 rebounds while Maude Okrah (Rutland, MA) contributed six points and eight rebounds.

The Lions see their season conclude with a 21-9 record, besting the old school standard for wins in a season by five.

Story by Ray Cotrufo '98 - WPI Athletics Department