The shooting performance was the second best in program history, just shy of the 61.1 percent the Lyons shot on January 23, 1992. At 10-8, Wheaton has a double-digit win total for just the second time in six seasons and is 3-4 in conference play. The Engineers slipped to 5-11 overall and 1-6 in the NEWMAC.
The Engineers were hitting on all cylinders early, as sophomore Kimberly Soo Hoo (Benicia, CA/Berkeley) hit back-to-back threes and assisted on another by freshman Clara Yuan (San Jose, CA/Archbishop Mitty) to put the guests up, 9-2. Wheaton responded with a 9-2 run of its own and, after forcing a trio of ties, gained its first lead on freshman Jennie Pleat's (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) lay-up at 12:54.
After two more ties, MIT regained the lead, 20-17 on Yuan's second trey of the half at 10:38, but Wheaton strung together a quick 10-2 spurt in which freshman Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) drained a free throw and consecutive three-pointers for seven of her 14 first-half points. During a stretch of 5:06, the Lyons scored 15 of the game's 19 points, as Wheaton's advantage ballooned to as much as 14 when sophomore Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) knocked down a pair of free throws with 51 remaining in the half. The Blue and White took a 42-30 edge into the break.
The Lyons built their lead to 16 points three times during the first 6:27 of the second stanza, but MIT engineered an 11-0 run over 3:12 that brought the visitors to within 59-54, the closest they had been in nearly 17 minutes. Wheaton responded in kind, netting 11 straight points during a 3:06 span to make the score 74-58 with 3:31 remaining. Freshman Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) led the game-icing charge with five points. During the second period, Wheaton hit 14-of-20 shots for a 70-percent clip.
The Blue-and-White boasted five players in double-figure scoring, led by Hickey's game-high 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Hickey's performance was her third 20-point outing in four games. Smith finished with 17 points by shooting 4-of-6 from long range and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe, while Aitchison shot 5-of-7 for 14 points. Pleat tallied a season-high 12 points, aided by her 6-of-6 shooting from the line, sophomore Amy Johnson (Wilmington, VT/Wilmington) tied her career highs with 13 points and a team-best six rebounds, and junior Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) dished out a career-high 10 assists after matching her top helper total each of the past two games.
Yuan and junior Cherelle Walls (Memphis, TN/East High) each contributed 12 points for MIT, with Walls' total coming in 20 minutes as a reserve. Soo Hoo added 11 points and hit 3-of-4 three-point attempts.
Wheaton continues its three-game homestand with a NEWMAC contest against Wellesley College on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score MIT vs Wheaton College 1/28/05 1:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. At Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. WHEATON COLLEGE 82, MIT 63 MIT (5-11, 1-6) Cherelle Walls 6-12 0-1 12; Clara Yuan 4-7 2-2 12; Kimberly Soo Hoo 4-8 0-0 11; Karen Kinnaman 3-10 3-4 9; Samantha O'Keefe 4-6 0-2 8; Christa Margossian 2-6 2-2 6; Michal Ruchelsman 1-4 0-0 3; Darchelle Clark 1-1 0-0 2; Cheryl Kwinn 0-0 0-0 0; Andrea Dooley 0-2 0-0 0; Alice Yeh 0-0 0-0 0; Jordan Wirfs-Brock 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 7-11 63. WHEATON COLLEGE (10-8, 3-4) Krystin Hickey 9-10 0-0 20; Bri Smith 4-6 5-6 17; Becky Aitchison 5-7 3-6 14; Amy Johnson 5-9 2-4 13; Jennie Pleat 3-8 6-6 12; Casey Sorbara 1-5 2-2 4; Brandee Williams-Epe 1-1 0-1 2; Thayer Lawson 0-0 0-0 0; Lauren Gosline 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-46 18-25 82. MIT........................... 30 33 - 63 Wheaton College............... 42 40 - 82 3-point goals-MIT 6-12 (Kimberly Soo Hoo 3-4; Clara Yuan 2-4; Michal Ruchelsman 1-2; Andrea Dooley 0-1; Karen Kinnaman 0-1), Wheaton College 8-14 (Bri Smith 4-6; Krystin Hickey 2-2; Amy Johnson 1-1; Becky Aitchison 1-2; Casey Sorbara 0-2; Jennie Pleat 0-1). Fouled out--MIT-Christa Margossian; Clara Yuan, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-MIT 23 (Cherelle Walls 5; Samantha O'Keefe 5), Wheaton College 30 (Amy Johnson 6). Assists-MIT 16 (Samantha O'Keefe 4; Karen Kinnaman 4), Wheaton College 21 (Casey Sorbara 10). Total fouls-MIT 19, Wheaton College 12. A-200