Women's Basketball (15-10, 9-4) Goes 2-0, Nabs Fourth Seed for NEWMAC Tournament

The Wheaton College women's basketball team went 2-0 last week, clinching the fourth seed in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament. The Lyons downed visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 57-24 on Thursday before pushing past host Clark University, 73-61 on Saturday in a contest that dropped the Cougars into the fifth seed. Wheaton begins a quest for its second straight NEWMAC Tournament title when it hosts Clark in Wednesday's first round, with the semifinals and final to be played this weekend at the highest remaining seed.

In a contest originally scheduled to be played at MIT on Wednesday, the teams met instead in Norton on Thursday, as the Lyons used a 13-0 run to end the first half and take control. Wheaton led by double figures for the final 24:38 of the contest. Each of the 10 Blue and White players who saw at least 12 minutes of action scored, with senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) shooting 6-of-8 to tally a game-high 12 points in just 19 minutes while adding four steals. Classmate Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) totaled eight points and six assists, while freshman Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) notched eight points and five rebounds. Junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) had a career-high six of her team's 13 steals.

At Clark, the Lyons employed a 12-0 run during the middle portion of the second half to snap a tie and take the lead for good. Hickey scored Wheaton's first seven points, in the process reaching the 1,500-point plateau, and finished with 13 points and four assists. Senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) scored all 14 of her points in the second half and grabbed seven rebounds, including five offensive, while junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) tallied 14 points and six boards. Smith added 10 points and four assists, and Bailey had a well-rounded line of seven points, a game-high-tying eight rebounds and a game-best eight assists. DePalo snagged six boards in nine minutes, and senior Lauren Gosline (Peterborough, NH/ConVal Regional) canned three threes en route to nine points.

Hickey extended her school record to 1,509 career points and sits second in career field goals (573), fifth in free throws (266), seventh in three-pointers (97), ninth in assists (230) and 10th in both rebounds (589) and steals (185). Hickey is the only player in program history with four 300-point seasons, as well as the lone Lyon with at least 500 career points, 350 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals, 50 three-pointers and 25 blocks. She and Smith are tied for fourth in games played (109), while Pleat is tied for second (110), having set a school record by appearing in 110 straight games. Champney is first in career blocks (110) and is tied for fourth in a single season (41), Smith is second in career threes (156) and needs 31 points for 1,000, and Bailey is fifth in assists (308). With 127 assists, Bailey joins Sharon Morrisseau '89 and Casey Sorbara '07 as the only players in program history with multiple 100-assist seasons. Bailey's total this season is tied for fifth in school annals, three helpers shy of her 2007-08 sum.