Lyons Open Season with 74-52
Tip-Off Classic Win Over Wentworth

Courtesy of Wheaton College Sports Information Office

NORTON, MA- Three players scored in double figures as the Wheaton College women's basketball team opened its season with a 74-52 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology during the 15th Wheaton Tip-Off Classic on Saturday in Emerson Gymnasium. The Leopards were also opening their 2006-07 slate.

The first half featured six ties, but the Lyons never trailed after freshman Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) tied the game at 12 at 13:28. Champney's two free throws with 4:59 remaining put Wheaton up by a 28-21 count, its largest first-half lead, before the hosts held a 37-31 edge at halftime. Wheaton blew the game open in the second half, scoring the first 14 points of the frame, the last 10 of which all came from sophomore Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School). Wentworth never again trailed by less than 13, despite senior Cheyenne Noble (Murrysville, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) playing a hand in 10 of the Leopards' final 12 points. The Lyons shot 57.1 percent from the field during the second half, while Wentworth had a 21.2-percent showing and went 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.

For the game, the Blue and White shot 53.6 percent to the Leopards' 29 percent while hitting 12-of-14 free throw attempts and picking up 16 steals. Junior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) turned in a double-double for the Lyons, scoring 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting while dishing out a career-high 11 assists. A wing player, Aitchison's helper total was one shy of matching the 13-year-old school record. Hickey notched 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe and grabbing six rebounds. Champney made her collegiate debut a memorable one, as she tallied 15 points and five rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench. In all, 11 Lyons either scored or assisted on a basket. Junior Emily Cring (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) recorded 18 points and 12 boards for Wentworth, while Noble had 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.

In the second contest, sophomore Alysn Ludwig's (Waldoboro, ME/Medomak Valley) free throw with 0.9 seconds remaining was the difference as Saint Joseph's College of Maine downed Green Mountain College, 66-65 during each team's season opener. During a back-and-forth opening half, the Eagles used an 11-2 run to gain their largest edge of the first period, 21-16 at 9:40 before five different Saint Joseph's players scored during a 10-0 jaunt, and junior Marie Lint (Orono, ME/Orono) scored with two seconds left to cap a 20-6 run that gave the Monks a 36-27 halftime lead.

Lint's basket at 18:10 of the second stanza pushed Saint Joseph's lead to 42-31 before the Eagles scored 22 of the next 27 points to charge back in front by six points, 53-47 at 6:47. With 1:52 to go, freshman Carolyn Freeman (Scarborough, ME/Catherine McAuley) drew the Monks even at 60 on a three-pointer before hitting two free throws. After Ludwig knocked down a freebie with nine seconds left to give Saint Joseph's a 65-62 lead, the Eagles pushed the ball down court, and sophomore Brittany Holden (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) knotted the game with 0.9 seconds remaining on a long-range shot from the left corner. However, Ludwig was fouled before the Monks could inbound the ball and hit the winning free throw.

Freeman led Saint Joseph's with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Lint and Ludwig contributed 18 and 13 points, respectively. Freshman Allison Miner (Pembroke, NH/Pembroke Academy) added eight points and 10 rebounds. Holden hit 10-of-20 shots to notch 23 points for the Eagles, while sophomore Natalie Clark (West Palm Beach, FL/Montverde Academy) was the only other Green Mountain player in double figures with 12.

The Wheaton Tip-Off Classic concludes tomorrow when the Lyons take on Green Mountain at 1:00 p.m., and Saint Joseph's faces Wentworth at 3:00 p.m.