Cambridge, MA --- Melanie Presseau (Manchester, NH) became WPI's all-time leader in 3-pointers but host MIT spoiled the Crimson and Gray's night by rallying for an important 65-59 NEWMAC victory in a women's basketball contest played in Rockwell Cage on Wednesday evening. 

It was WPI's second straight matchup against a team with just one NEWMAC loss following Saturday's 68-63 home win versus Springfield, and it snapped a season-best five game winning streak.  Worcester's Engineers, who appear in the initial Division III Region II alphabetical rankings, are now 15-6 on the season and 6-2 in conference action while MIT, winners of eight straight, improve to 14-8 overall and 6-1 in NEWMAC play. 

The first half belonged to WPI.  The Crimson and Gray led by as many as 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, highlighted by back-to-back Presseau 3-pointer's early in the second quarter that was the graduate student's 147th and 148th career trifectas, tying and then surpassing the previous school record holder and Hall of Famer Jody Normandin '90. 

WPI maintained its comfortable cushion in the third quarter as Victoria Mirecki's (Washingtonville, NY) layup increased the lead to 16 points (53-37) with 3:16 on the clock. Sparked by back-to-back layups by first-year Brianna Lebrun (Hartford, CT), MIT closed out the quarter with nine unanswered points, including a trio of free throws by graduate student Paula Pieper (Greenville, SC). 

MIT carried the momentum into the fourth quarter as a jumper by sophomore Elise Harvey (Wayland, MA) gave it a 56-55 edge at the 5:47 mark. Following three minutes of scoreless play, a put-back by first-year Alice Hall (Ambler, PA) created some breathing room for the hosts. However, WPI ended its five-minute scoring drought courtesy of McKenna Finken's (Simsbury, CT) layup with 2:09 remaining. 

After an exchange of possessions, sophomore Angie Choi (Cypress, CA) recorded a jumper and then a free throw to give MIT a 61-57 lead with 34 seconds to go. Following a pair of WPI three-point attempts, Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) cut the deficit in half by sinking two free throws with 13 seconds left. A quick foul sent Berman to the charity stripe where she hit both shots. WPI's next three-point attempt was off the mark and then junior Grace Harrington (Seattle, WA) grabbed the defensive rebound and secured the victory by draining two free throws with one-tenth of a second on the clock. 

Choi tallied a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals for MIT.  Nwogu registered 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal while Lebrun finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. 

Victoria Mirecki (Washingtonville, NY) paced WPI with 11 points coming off the bench.  Finken posted 10 points and two steals as Lisa Cristiano (Valhalla, NY) generated eight points and six rebounds. Alex Scariati (Scotch Plains, NJ) and Emily Raynowska (Brentwood, NH) both dished out five assists while Adrianna Niles (Tewkesbury, MA) collected six rebounds. 

Both teams produced 34 points in the paint as MIT led the way in rebounds (43-35), points off turnovers (17-16), and second-chance points (18-9). WPI ended the night with a 23-14 advantage in bench scoring. 

Both teams are on the road on Saturday.  WPI closes out a brief two-game road swing with a 3pm trip New London, CT to face Coast Guard while MIT ventures to South Hadley for a 2pm tilt with Mount Holyoke. 

Majority of Release Courtesy MIT Sports Information