Visiting WPI gets past Wellesley Basketball, 53-47

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Visiting WPI used a late surge and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch to notch a 53-47 victory over Wellesley in NEWMAC women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

Despite Wellesley holding WPI to just 18% shooting in the second half, the visitors went 13 of 14 from the line to ice their sixth straight victory. The result lifts the Engineers to 11-3 overall with a 7-1 mark in conference play.  Wellesley evens its record at 7-7 with a 4-3 NEWMAC ledger, as the Blue dropped their sixth straight contest.

Lauren Hannmann led the Engineers with 11 points while Theresa Logan and Elle Fontaine each recorded 10 points and six rebounds.  Filling out the box score, Cindy Chelius and Melissa Kuhn each picked up six points, with Kuhn adding a game-high eight assists.

Wellesley's Becca Kimball led all scorers with 23 points, while Leslie Leong had a solid game with 10 points, nine boards.

In a tightly played first half that featured six lead changes, WPI used a 7-0 run to close out the period with a 31-24 advantage.  The Engineers shot 50% (13-26) in the first half, getting six points each from Hannmann, Fontaine and Chelius. Wellesley's Kimball kept the Blue in the game with 12 first half points.

Wellesley erased the WPI advantage early in the second half, using a 10-2 run to take a 35-33 lead with 11:31 to play.  After seven minutes of back and forth basketball, Fontaine hit a key three to put the Engineers up by five with 4:30 remaining.  The Blue would cut the lead to 49-45 with :47 ticks on the clock, but WPI's Kuhn and Hannmann hit two free throws each to seal the victory for the Engineers.

Both teams continue their NEWMAC slate on Wednesday.  Wellesley travels to Wheaton for a 7:00pm match-up, while WPI host MIT, also at 7:00pm.