Wheaton women gain entrance to ECAC Tournament for first time since 1996, Lyons gear up to host Suffolk in opening round

February 26, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team got word of its first Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament bid in 11 seasons Monday morning, as the Lyons also learned they'd host the first round as the fourth seed against fifth-seeded Suffolk University. The game is set for Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium. Wheaton's appearance in this year's ECAC Tournament marks its fourth, as the Blue and White also competed in 1992, 1993 and 1996.

Wheaton's ECAC Tournament bid is the first under fourth-year head coach Melissa Hodgdon, who looks to direct her team to the program's first title game in school history. The Lyons have gone 1-3 in ECAC action, last winning in 1992. Wheaton comes into Wednesday's game with a 17-10 record after advancing to its first conference semifinal since 1996. The Blue and White edged Clark University, 74-72, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament before falling to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 52-44.

Suffolk enters Wednesday's contest as the tournament's lone Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) school, as the Rams boast an 18-9 record after losing to nationally-ranked Norwich University in the league tournament semifinal. Wheaton faces Suffolk for the second time this season and third time overall, as the Lyons hold a 2-0 edge after defeating the Rams, 68-52 on December 6 in Norton.

Three Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) schools gained entrance into this year's tournament, with Colby-Sawyer College (22-5) locking down the top seed to face the Little East Conference's (LEC) Rhode Island College (16-10). Other first round games are second seed WPI (20-7) facing number seven Nichols College (17-10) and third-seeded Endicott College (18-9) hosting sixth seed and North Atlantic Conference (NAC) member Castleton State College (19-8). The opening round winners will advance to Friday's semifinals at the higher of the two seeds, with the semifinal round victors scheduled to meet in the championship on Saturday at the highest remaining seed.

With 17 wins, Wheaton needs one to tie for the fourth most in program history and two victories to stand alone, as the Lyons posted 18 wins in each the 1992-93 and 1995-96 seasons. Wheaton has gone 13-5 since starting the year 4-5 and posted 11 triumphs during a 12-game span from January 3 through February 7. Sophomore Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) leads the Lyons in scoring and field goal and free throw percentages, and is second in steals and tied for third in rebounding. She averages 14.1 points and 4.6 boards while shooting 50.7 percent from the field, 45.6 percent from three-point territory and 83.6 percent from the foul line.

Joining Hickey in the frontcourt is senior Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton), who paces the squad with 5.7 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.0 points. Junior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic), who joins McCormack as the only two players to start all 27 games, averages 8.0 points and 5.5 boards as Wheaton's wing player. She is tops on the team with 58 steals and second with 66 assists. The Lyons' starting backcourt features a pair of four-year seniors in Samara Audet (Derry, NH/Trinity) and Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic). Audet averages 5.9 points, while Sorbara quarterbacks the team from her point guard position with 104 assists.

Wheaton's lineup generally goes 10 deep, as sophomores Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) and Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy), and freshmen Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham), Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) and Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) have each seen time in all 27 games. Champney holds down averages of 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds, while Smith scores 6.5 points while shooting 44.0 percent from deep.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/26/07.
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