Mount Holyoke Claims 2007 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Championship As Strong Second Half Effort Carries Second-Seeded Lyons To 51-46 Title Game Victory Over Top-Seeded WPI To Earn First-Ever NCAA Tournament Berth

WORCESTER, Mass. --- Second-seeded Mount Holyoke claimed its first-ever NEWMAC Tournament crown with a thrilling 51-46 victory over top-seeded WPI at Harrington Auditorium on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Lyons (21-7) will appear in their first NCAA Division III Championships and awaits the pairings, which comes out tomorrow. WPI (20-7), the regular-season NEWMAC champion, awaits word on Monday for a probable ECAC Tournament bid.

Mount Holyoke had led by four at 47-43 following a Joeanna Silvey (Boston, MA) layup when WPI made a run for the title. With 1:46 remaining, Kate Maki (Fitchburg, MA) hit a 3-pointer from the left side of the top of the key to pull the Engineers to within one.

After a Mount Holyoke turnover and a WPI miss, Meghan Pajonas (Bristol, CT) came away with a defensive rebound following a missed free throw with just under 50 seconds remaining.  On the offensive end Maki made a nice move to the basket but Silvey came up with a key block on the play.

Angela Astuccio (Foxboro, MA) hit a pair of free throws following the block, before WPI came back downcourt. The Engineers missed a 3-point attempt, but the came up with the rebound.  Following a time out, Astuccio stole the inbound pass away from WPI and got the ball downcourt to Marisa Barone (Ludlow, MA), who made a layup in the closing seconds.

WPI led up until the 15:44 mark of the second half, as the Lyons, who had trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, put together an 8-0 run to take the lead. They would lead for the rest of the way except for a 43-second span following a Kaileen Selen (Worcester, MA) trey and a Maki layup that gave WPI a brief 35-34 lead. Barone reclaimed the lead for Mount Holyoke by converting a three-point play at the 10:20 mark.

Three players scored in double figures for the Lyons.  Silvey had a game-high 17 points while Astuccio added 16 points and a game-high seven assists. Barone chipped with 13 points and nine rebounds.

For the WPI, Pajonas finished 13 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.  It marked her ninth double-double of the season. Maki scored a career-high 12 points, going 5-of-9 from the field while Michelle Perry (Pelham, NH) and Selen added eight and six points respectively.