In the last game of the season, WPI hosted Babson on senior day. Before the game seniors Alison Kmiecik, Becca Rubenstein, Jen Plante and Jenn Lovin were honored for their hard work and comittment to the women's program over the past four years.
In a tightly fought contest the Engineers won 73-55. Danielle Batey led all scorers with 20 points while Lovin added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kmiecik scored a career high 12 points to contribute to the victory.
On Tuesday the 20th, WPI hosted MIT in the opening round of the New England Women's Eight Tournament. WPI was not to be denied as they won the game easily 88-50. Batey and Lovin each scored 17 points while Plante scored a career high 15 points. Andrea Kodys, Melinda Darway and Cathy Jzyk were sparks of the bench combining for 21 points in the win.
On Saturday the 17th, the Engineers had a contest at Coast Guard in an important conference game as both teams were vying for third place and a home game advantage in the first round on the CAC Tournament. WPI lost 77-73 as they were outscored from the free throw line 25-14. Jim Naughton led the Engineers with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Greg Simpson and Mike Shannon had solid games with 15 points and 13 points respectively.
The next day, WPI had to travel to Northfield, Vt. for a make-up game with Norwich. This game would determine the seedings of four teams in the CAC. The Engineers only got as close as seven points in the second half as Norwich won 80-62, thus clinching fourth place while WPI dropped to sixth. Jeff Cayer had 13 points while Naughton, Simpson, John Lehane and Shannon all scored 10 points.
WPI now had to travel back to New London, Conn. to play Coast Guard in the opening round of the conference tournament last Tuesday the 20th. In a game that went down to the last shot, WPI was edged 76-74. Accounts of the game had the Engineers down by as many as 14 with about eight minutes remaining. Naughton scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Shannon added 17 in the tough loss. Special note to add on Naughton's career at WPI. He scored 1,543 points for second all time for males. His 891 career rebounds is first on the men's list. He also has the marks for free throws made and attempted for a career while shooting over 75 percent for a career from the charity stripe. He finishes with 36 career double-doubles and only because his career has ended does his streak for consecutive games scoring double figures which reached 55 straight, dating back to February 19, 1994. Congratulations to Jim on an outstanding career.
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