Babson Park, MA --- Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) paced all players with 17 points and six assists and headlined WPI's 23-of-27 performance from the free throw line by going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe as seventh-seeded WPI went on the road and upset second-seeded Babson 60-54 in a NEWMAC Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal contest played Wednesday evening.
 
With the victory, the Engineers (13-13) return to the conference semifinals after missing them a season ago and will head to sixth-seeded MIT Friday night at 7pm after Cambridge's Engineers knocked off third-seeded Springfield in overtime on Wednesday night.  Babson sees its season end with a 16-10 mark and were denied a NEWMAC semifinal spot of the first time since 2008.
 
An Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) 3-pointer gave WPI a six point bulge at 49-43 with 7:04 remaining but the Engineers would go scoreless for the next 4:22 and saw the Beavers claw back to within two points during the stretch on layups from Chloe Perreault (Danbury, CT) and Katelyn Mollica (Foxboro, MA).   Kelly broke the Engineer drought with her only trifecta on the night with 2:42 to go to push the lead back to five at 52-47.
 
Babson drew back to within two at 54-52 when Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, MA) was fouled while making a layup for a second straight possession and converted the free throw for the traditional 3-point play with 1:47 left on the clock.  After the next possession was extended due to a Babson foul, WPI went up 56-52 with 1:05 to go when Allyn powered her way to the basket and delivered what proved to be the final basket of the game.  From that point forward, the Beavers where 2-of-4 from the while the Crimson and Gray canned 4-of-6 freebies to secure the Boynton Hillers a spot in the semifinals.
 
The Engineers found themselves in a early 5-1 hole after missing their first six shots from the field but quickly regrouped by canning their last five field goals tries - all by different players -  over the final 5:29 over the opening quarter to lead 11-7 after 10 minutes.  Babson struggled from the field in the first stanza, shooting 3-of-15 overall (20%) and misfiring on all four 3-point attempts. 
 
The hosts found their groove from downtown early in the second quarter as Chloe Perreault (Danbury, CT) and Emily Flynn (Hanover, MA) connected on trifecta to create a 13-13 tie.  The WPI offense however continued its strong play, totaling 18 points in the frame on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor.  A pair of Kelly free throws in the final 10 seconds before the half equaled the guests biggest advantage of the opening half of six art 29-23.  Kelly had 10 points at the break while Caitlyn Dasaro (Fairfield, VT) netted seven for the Crimson and Gray, which was 9-of-10 from the line in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The free throw line was key to the Engineers in the third quarter as an 8-of-9 showing from the charity stripe overcame a 3-of-12 performance from the field as the visitors were able to shake off seven points in the frame from Flynn to maintain a 44-39 edge headed to the final 10 minutes.
 
Kelly, who played all 40 minutes, was joined in double figures in scoring by Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) and Dasaro, who each finished with 10 points.   Giansiracusa keyed WPI's 41-25 advantage on the glass. with a career-best 11 rebounds while the trio of Dasaro, Allyn and Megan Stone (Hanson, MA) all grabbed give boards.  Point guard Shannon Reno (Millbury, MA) was a perfect 2-for-2 from the field on her way to five points while delivering outstanding perimeter defense against the NEWMAC's top 3-point shooting team and Ava Hyams (Kearny, NJ) provided a spark off the bench with four points in 14 minutes.
 
Reale led Babson with 14 points while Mollica added 12 and Flynn chipped in with 10.