WPI Ousts Basketball, 52-42

Game Statistics

WORCESTER, Mass. (Feb. 25, 2009) – Powered by junior forward Serena Dubois, the top seeded Worcester Polytechnic Institute women’s basketball team picked up a 52-42 victory over eighth seeded Mount Holyoke College in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Quarterfinal round contest this evening at Harrington Auditorium.

With their third straight win over the Lyons, the Engineers secured a spot in the NEWMAC Semifinals. They will host fourth seeded Wheaton College on Saturday. Wheaton advanced by way of a 73-62 triumph over fifth seeded Clark University. In other quarterfinal round action, second seeded Babson College blasted the seventh seeded Coast Guard Academy 59-35, and third seeded Springfield College downed sixth seeded Wellesley College 73-62. Babson and Springfield will face off on Saturday at WPI. The NEWMAC Championship is slated for Sunday and will also take place at WPI.

Mount Holyoke closed out its 2008-09 campaign with an overall record of 7-19 and a league mark of 4-9.

Dubois recorded game highs of 18 points and eight rebounds for the Engineers, who made 34.7% (17-49) of their attempts from the field. She was joined in double digits by classmate Kaileen Selen, who tallied 14 points from the guard position. Sophomore guard Elle Fontaine posted nine points, and senior guard Natasha Deschene dished out a game best five assists. WPI racked up 15 points on 22 chances from the free throw line.

Mount Holyoke fell despite a 36-32 edge on the glass. The Lyons shot 34.0% (16-47) from the floor but committed 19 turnovers and got to the charity stripe just ten times. They were paced by junior guard Erin Cain, who registered team highs of 11 points and eight rebounds. She drained two shots from beyond the arc. First year forwards Emma Washauer and Tricia Chase chipped in with seven points apiece.

The hosts never trailed in the game and led by as many as 12 points on four occasions.

WPI (21-5, 12-1 NEWMAC) took control of things with an 8-1 run in the early stages of the opening frame. A layup by senior guard Caitlin Macko put the Engineers in front 12-5 at the 9:31 mark, and the hosts stretched their lead to 22-10 following a three pointer by Selen with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. Mount Holyoke rallied for the final five points of the half but still trailed 22-15 at the break. Selen led all scorers with nine points in the opening period. Cain had six for the Lyons.

A jumper by junior center Kate Shafir sliced the deficit to 22-17 in the first minute of the second stanza, but WPI responded with an 8-3 spurt over the next seven minutes to push the cushion back to double digits. The Lyons were able to cut the deficit to seven on two separate occasions down the stretch but could climb no closer. Dubois scored 11 of her 18 points in the final eight minutes to seal things for the home team. She totaled 12 points after the intermission.