WORCESTER -- Leila Nielsen (New York, NY) converted a key layup with 1:34 to go and Delaney MacPhetres (Amherst, MA) canned a free throw with under five seconds remaining and then secured the game-clinching steal in the waning moments to provide WPI a thrilling 53-50 victory over visiting Williams in a non-conference women's basketball contest played Monday evening inside Harrington Auditorium.
 
The victory pushes WPI's record to 8-4 on the season while the Ephs see their record level at 6-6 overall.
 
The fourth quarter featured five lead changes until a MacPhetres free throw delivered the game its eighth and final tie of night at 46-46 with 4:22 to go.  WPI pushed ahead 50-46 with a basket by Allison Fullem (Underhill, VT) and a pair of Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) free throws on its next two possessions.  Williams was back within a basket before Fullem found a cutting Nielsen to to push the lead back to four with 1:34 remaining.   Fullem had a key block to deny the Ephs with 23 second left and after a pair of Ephs free throws by Micah Walton (Austin, TX), MacPhetres, drained 1-of-2 from the charity stripe and on the other end, gobbled up a loose ball of a steal with just 0.2 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
 
Giansiracusa topped all scorers with 15 points and was joined in double figure scoring by Neilsen, who notched 10 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals a pair of blocks.  Emmy Allyn (Rutland MA) totaled seven of her nine points after halftime and Ava Hyams (Kearny, NJ) added eight for the Engineers, while MacPhetres, who logged just over two minutes of court time over the first three quarters, played nearly eight minutes in the final frame, registering four points, a pair of steals a block in the fourth.
 
Kathleen Smith (Plaistow, NH) collected her fourth double-double of the season for the Ephs with 12 points, on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, and 10 rebounds while Central Mass product Hanorah Murphy (Auburn, MA) added 10 points before fouling out in the final minute.   Walton chipped in with eight points and Sarah Pettegrove (Glen Gardner, NJ) handed out a game-best four assists for the visitors.
 
The first quarter saw neither team lead by more than three points with WPI, shooting 50% from the floor, including 3-of-4 from Nelison, and parlaying all three turnovers committed by the visitors in the opening 10 minutes into baskets on its way to a 15-12 edge after the first quarter.  In the second, Giansiracusa notched eight of her game-best 11 first half points to as the two teams went into the locker room at intermission with WPI's holding a 27-25 edge.  The Ephs were balanced in the first half with four different players connecting on baskets and posting four points each.
 
Smith drained all three of her third quarter shot attempts in the third quarter and accounted for the first two baskets for the visitors in a session-ending 8-1 spurt over the final 3:36 to put the Ephs ahead 42-40 heading to the final quarter.
 
WPI concludes its regular season non-conference slate with a pair of road contests, beginning at Curry on Saturday at 3pm.  Williams kicks off the NESCAC portion of its schedule this weekend, venturing to Connecticut for matchups on Friday at Wesleyan and Saturday at Trinity.