Feb. 6, 2008

Box Score

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, Mass.) and senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, Conn.) combined for 31 points and 17 rebounds as the Wheaton College women's basketball team claimed a 67-54 win over host Babson College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) contest at Staake Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

With the win, Wheaton remained perfect in conference play, improving to 15-5 overall and 8-0 in the league, while the Beavers slipped to 9-11 overall and 4-4 in the NEWMAC.

Champney finished with a team-high 16 points while also collecting eight rebounds in the win for the Lyons. Aitchison added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with a team-best nine rebounds and three assists. Junior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, N.H.) chipped in with eight points and junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, N.H.) and sophomore Ida Kruse (Vershire, Vt.) tossed in seven apiece. Sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, Mass.) also had a strong game for the visitors, totalling seven boards, five assists, and three steals.

Babson was paced by senior Caitlin Fenn (Niantic, Conn.), who scored 15 points and pulled down six rebounds, and senior Linsey Poulson (Leominster, Mass.), who netted 12 points and collected a team-high nine boards. Senior tri-captain Nicole McManus (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) added 11 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, and senior tri-captain Caitlin Boulier (Wolcott, Conn.) finished with 10 points. First-year Amanda Grammel (Leominster, Mass.) joined Bailey with a game-high five assists.

Wheaton used a 13-3 run midway through the first half to build a 31-19 advantage, but Babson eventually whittled the lead down to seven, 34-27, at the break. The Beavers would then pull to within two after back-to-back three-pointers by Boulier and Fenn made it 41-39 with 14:28 left in the second half, but the Lyons responded with six straight points of their own to go back up by eight, 47-39, with 12:52 left to play. Wheaton later used a 10-1 run to extend its lead to 60-44 with six minutes remaining and Babson would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way as the Lyons claimed the 67-54 victory.