WPI Ousts Basketball From NEWMAC Tournament, 57-40

WORCESTER, Mass. (Feb. 24, 2010) – The WPI women’s basketball team cruised to a 57-40 triumph over Mount Holyoke College in the Quarterfinal Round of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament this evening at Harrington Auditorium.

With their sixth straight win over the Lyons and fifth straight victory overall, the Engineers (18-8, 13-5 NEWMAC) secured a spot in Saturday’s NEWMAC Semifinals, where they will face off against sixth seeded Wellesley College at 3:00 p.m. The Blue advanced by way of a 58-57 upset victory over third seeded Springfield College.

On the other side of the draw, top seeded Babson College throttled the eighth seeded Coast Guard Academy 75-28, and fourth seeded Wheaton College handed fifth seeded Smith College 62-56. Babson and Wheaton will meet in the Semifinals at 1:00 p.m. The remainder of the NEWMAC Tournament will take place at Babson’s Staake Gymnasium.

Mount Holyoke closed out its 2009-10 campaign with an overall record of 8-18. The Lyons posted a 6-12 mark versus league foes.

Leading the way for WPI was junior Melissa Kuhn, who exploded for 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor. The guard knocked down four shots from beyond the arc for the Engineers, who converted 46.2% (24-52) of their shots from the floor as a team. Junior center Charlotte McDonnell and sophomore guard Lauren Hannmann added eight points apiece. WPI forced the Lyons into 25 turnovers.

Mount Holyoke was paced by sophomore guard Christine Chancy, who recorded her first double-double of the season on 12 points and a career best 12 rebounds. Senior forward Erin Cain added nine points and six boards for the Lyons, who were limited to 28.3% (13-46) shooting from the field. The guests finished with a 38-24 advantage on the glass.

After falling behind 6-2 in the early going, WPI scored the next nine points to open up an 11-6 edge at the 12:38 mark. Mount Holyoke sliced the deficit to 15-12 on a layup by sophomore forward Tricia Chase midway through the opening frame, but the Engineers responded with seven consecutive points over the next two minutes to push their lead to 22-12. Kuhn recorded five points during the rally, drilling a midrange jumper and a three pointer on back-to-back possessions. WPI took a 29-20 advantage into the locker room. Kuhn and Hannmann led all scorers with eight points at the break. Cain had seven for the Lyons.

WPI pulled away with a 16-6 run in the early stages of the second stanza. The Engineers extended their cushion to 45-26 on a Kuhn jumper at the 11:24 mark. She also drilled a pair of treys during the spurt. They led by 19 points on four occasions during the second half.