Wheaton completes thrilling comeback against Clark to open league play

January 6, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team led for just over two minutes of this afternoon's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener against Clark University, but the Lyons' advantage came at the right time as they scored the game's last 13 points while keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard for the final 5:25 en route to a thrilling 61-56 comeback victory in Emerson Gymnasium. Wheaton moves to 6-5 on the season, while Clark falls to 4-8.

Staring at a 56-48 deficit with a little over five minutes to play, the hosts began to chip away, scoring seven straight points on two lay-ups and three free throws to close the gap to one with 2:44 to go. Following a Cougar turnover at 2:30, junior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) buried a three on senior Casey Sorbara's (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) eighth assist to give the Lyons their first lead of the game.

After an array of turnovers and missed shots took place between the two teams, Wheaton gained possession with 39 seconds to play, and Clark ended up fouling. Senior Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) gave the Lyons a three-point edge with 30 ticks left and, following another Clark giveaway, Aitchison knocked down a freebie for a four-point Wheaton advantage with 18 seconds left. The Lyons then corralled the offensive rebound on the ensuing missed free throw, and Aitchison completed the game's scoring with one additional foul shot with 13 seconds to go.

Senior Ashley Auclair (Williamsburg, MA/Hampshire Regional) got the Cougars rolling in the right direction to start play today, as she knocked down a jumper 41 seconds into the contest, and the visitors maintained their lead the remainder of the opening frame. Wheaton three-pointers by Sorbara and sophomore Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) kept the Lyons close in the early going before Clark scored five straight to take a 14-6 advantage at 15:58. Wheaton got as close as two on two occasions, including trailing 27-25 with just over two minutes to go, but the Cougars rattled off the half's final six points for a 33-25 edge.

Clark led by as many as 10 in the second stanza, but the Lyons kept hanging around and trailed by two after a pair of free throws by freshman Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) at 10:29. Similar to the first half, the Cougars responded and pushed their lead back to eight at 5:26. However, Clark didn't score after that as the Lyon defense clamped down and the Wheaton offense heated up.

Aitchison scored all 10 of her points in the second half, while Hickey led the Lyons with 17 points. McCormack matched her career high in rebounds with 14, including six on the offensive glass, and Champney came off the bench to score 12 points. Sorbara added a game-high-tying four steals in the win.

For Clark, Auclair posted 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds, while freshman Jillian Camilleri (Lancaster, MA/Nashoba Regional) had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six rebounds. Sophomore Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, ME/Messalonskee) tallied nine points, six assists, five boards and four steals.

Wheaton remains at home Tuesday for a conference game against Wellesley College at 7:00 p.m.

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