The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College women's basketball junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) fell three assists shy of a triple-double in Wednesday night's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament opener, leading the top-seeded Lyons to a 79-36 triumph over eighth seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Emerson Gymnasium. Hickey had 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Wheaton, which advances to host Saturday's semifinal round.

Remaining unbeaten at home in 11 conference tournament games, Wheaton collected its 16th win in 18 games to improve to 20-6 overall, reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1994-95 and just the fourth time overall. The Engineers saw their season come to a close at 12-14. The Lyons will host number four Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in a rematch of last year's tournament semifinal in Worcester. Swapping the location and seeding from a season ago, game time is slated for 1:00 p.m.

The hosts jumped out to an 11-0 advantage through the first 4:30, holding MIT without a field goal until the 15:11 mark. Four different Lyons scored during the spurt. Wheaton again led by 11 at 9:59 and 8:34 before going on a 14-3 run during 3:37 to take a commanding 36-14 lead with 3:17 remaining in the half. The Blue and White hit 61.5 percent (16-26) of its shots up to that point, as Wheaton led 38-16 at the break.

The Lyons knocked down 53.1 percent (17-32) of their first-half shots while assisting on 14 of their 17 buckets, turning the ball over just twice. Conversely, the Engineers had just six field goals on 21.4 percent (6-28) shooting while committing 10 giveaways. Sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) paced Wheaton with 10 points and three blocks, Hickey turned in nine points, six boards and four assists, and junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) had eight points. Sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) handed out six assists with zero turnovers.

Wheaton maintained control in the second half, assisting on 14 of its 18 baskets for a 54.5 percent (18-33) clip. The Lyons outrebounded MIT, 24-10 in the stanza and had just three turnovers. For the game, Wheaton shot 53.8 percent (35-65), produced 28 assists and committed only five giveaways. The Engineers finished 26.4 percent (14-53) from the floor and 18.2 percent (2-11) from three-point territory.

Hickey's 18 points came on 8-of-13 shooting, her 11 boards tied a career high and seven assists were a career best. Champney totaled 16 points, six boards and three blocks, and Smith rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. Bailey distributed a game-best eight assists and scored six points, senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) had six points and five rebounds, while sophomore Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) added six points and four assists. All 11 Lyons who played scored.

MIT graduate student Samia Mahjub (Barrington, IL/William Fremd) was one rebound short of a double-double, tallying 12 points and nine rebounds. Junior Clara Yuan (San Jose, CA/Archbishop Mitty) had seven points, senior Kimberly Soo Hoo (Benicia, CA/Berkeley) recorded six points and three assists, while junior Cheryl Kwinn (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) pulled down six rebounds.

Wheaton Advances to Host Semifinal Round Following 79-36 Win Against MIT