Aitchison caps eventful weekend by drawing weekly NEWMAC honor

March 3, 2008

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College women's basketball standout Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) drew the first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Player-of-the-Week accolade of her career for the week ending on Sunday, March 2. The team's lone senior led the Lyons to their first NEWMAC Tournament crown and initial NCAA Tournament berth since the 1994-95 season.

During a 3-0 week, Aitchison averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals for the top-seeded Lyons, as the quad-captain shot 56.0 percent (14-25). In Wheaton's first-round game on Wednesday against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she had six points on 3-of-4 shooting with five rebounds while playing only 23 minutes in a 79-36 win.

In the Lyons' 59-53 semifinal victory over Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Saturday, Aitchison tallied 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and a 3-of-4 showing from the charity stripe to go along with six rebounds and four helpers. She also hit two free throws with 15 seconds remaining that extended Wheaton's lead to four points.

Aitchison notched 13 points, three assists and three steals during a 74-69 victory over Springfield College in the title game, helping the Lyons defeat a team that has claimed five league crowns in eight years. Wheaton led by one before Aitchison grabbed a crucial defensive rebound with 1:10 to go in regulation, and she collected two steals and a free throw during the final 27 seconds before ending up with the ball in her hands as the clock ran out.

The versatile quad-captain leads the team in steals (60), is second in each assists (92) and field goal shooting (.498), and places third in scoring (10.8), rebounding (5.0) and blocks (11). Among all NEWMAC players, Aitchison ranks third in steals and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.37), fourth in assists, fifth in field goal percentage and 20th in scoring.

On Sunday, Aitchison became the 14th Lyon to appear in 100 games, as she is seventh in Wheaton history in career steals (198), eighth in assists (225), and 10th in each blocks (39) and field goals (379).

Wheaton is 22-6, having recorded the third-most wins in program history and reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1994-95. The Lyons will compete this weekend in their third NCAA Tournament, taking on Tufts University in the first round on Friday at 5:00 p.m. in a contest at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 3/3/08.
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