Women's Basketball (11-8, 5-2) Splits a Pair, Falls Into Third-Place Tie in NEWMAC

The Wheaton College women's basketball team went 1-1 during New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play last week, defeating visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 62-24 on Wednesday before falling at Springfield College, 61-53 on Saturday in a rematch of last year's league tournament title game, won by Wheaton. The Lyons went 20-3 in their last 23 contests against league foes and have won 14 straight at home against NEWMAC counterparts. With six games remaining, Wheaton is tied for third in the conference standings with Babson College.

Against MIT, the Lyons yielded their lowest point total since December 8, 1996, holding the Engineers to 17.3-percent shooting for the game and to just five points during one 23:56 stretch. During Wheaton's 12th straight win over MIT, senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) scored 12 points, classmate Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) had 11 points and three assists, while junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) turned in 10 points. Classmate Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) tallied seven assists and nine rebounds, senior Lauren Gosline (Peterborough, NH/ConVal Regional) collected seven points and five boards, and junior Stephanie Walker (Somers, CT/Somers) snagged a career-high seven caroms.

Wheaton led the Pride by two points with less than four minutes remaining before succumbing to a late 11-0 run by the hosts. Smith was 3-of-6 from deep in totaling 14 points, Champney added 12 points and five rebounds, while Hickey notched a balanced line of nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Bailey turned in nine points and seven assists.

Hickey is second in program history in career points (1,443), sitting seven shy of Allyson Aube's '95 record of 1,450. She is also second in field goals (549), fifth in free throws (252), seventh in three-pointers (93) and tied with Smith for ninth in games played (103). Champney is first in career blocks (108) and fifth in a single season (39), Smith is second in career threes (146), Bailey is sixth in assists (279), senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) is eighth in games played (104).