WORCESTER -- The WPI women's basketball team held off a late charge from visiting Emerson, taking a 66-61 win on Wednesday night at Harrington Auditorium. The Engineers even their season mark to 11-11, going to 3-5 in the NEWMAC, while the Lions go to 12-10, 3-5 in conference play.
The two teams are now tied for the eighth and final spot in the NEWMAC Tournament with three games to remaining and the Crimson and Gray now holding the important head-to-head tiebreaker.
WPI's Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) poured in 21 points to tie for game-high honors, adding six rebounds and two blocks. Adrianna Niles (Tewksbury, MA), Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT), and Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) all added 11 points each in the win, with Niles adding seven rebounds. Caitlyn Dasaro (Fairfield, VT) had a game-high tying eight rebounds, while Allison Fullem (Underhill, VT) added seven boards.
For Emerson, Bri Frongillo (Hopedale, MA) led the Lions with 21 points, also pulling down five rebounds. Kendra Dodd (Tampa, FL) and Charlotte Levison (Atherton, CA) each had eight points, with Levison notching a team-best eight rebounds. Olivia Deslauriers (West Hartford, CT) chipped in with seven points and two blocks.
The teams battled in the first quarter, with WPI going up 9-5 early, and Emerson taking over at 12-9. The Engineers grabbed control with a 9-0 run spurred by five points from Kelly and four from Allyn to go up 18-12 with 2:30 to play. Emerson scored five of the final seven points of the frame, closing the gap to 20-17 after one.
In a slow-paced second frame, WPI scored four of the first six points to extend the advantage to 24-19. After a Frongillo score from Emerson, a Reno three sparked a 7-2 surge that had the hosts up 31-23 with 2:07 on the clock. The Lions battled back to within three (31-28) before a Niles layup in the waning seconds gave WPI a five-point advantage at the half.
The teams traded bucks to open up the second half, but threes from Kelly and Allyn pushed the lead to 41-33. After the Lions narrowed the lead to six (43-37), the Engineers used a 7-2 run to go up 50-39. Emerson got a free throw down the stretch to make it a 10-point game (50-40) through three quarters.
In the fourth, Emerson used an early 5-2 run to close the gap to 52-45. An Allyn three gave WPI more cushion and the Engineers ran the score to 59-48 with three the hard way from Niles at the 2:45 mark.
From there, an 11-2 Lions' run brought the visitors to within two points (61-59) with 29 seconds to play. The Engineers hit four straight free throws though, as Niles and Giansiracusa pushed the advantage back to six points with :24 to play. A Frongillo jumper with 10 seconds left accounted for the last Emerson points, however, as WPI held on for the 66-61 win.
Both teams continue NEWMAC play on Saturday. WPI will host Coast Guard at 2pm, while Emerson plays at Wheaton at 1pm.