Arnone scores career-high 26 points in win

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's basketball snapped its four game losing skid with a 91-48 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon inside Emerson Gymnasium.

Junior guard Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) poured in a career-high 26 points for the Blue and White on 9-for-10 shooting from the field, including a 6-for-7 line from behind the arc and 2-for-4 showing from the free throw line. Arnone also chipped in with six boards and dished out five assists. Classmate Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) netted 10 points, handed out three assists and recorded a pair of blocks, while senior forward Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) added 23 points and six rebounds to the mix. 

Mount Holyoke senior forward Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down five caroms. Classmate Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional) added six points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and stole the ball three times. Senior Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School) poured in 19 points and handed out three assists.

Wheaton opened the game with a 13-5 spurt that was sparked by Laura Pierce's (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) opening three-pointer and was followed by a pair of layups from Shoemaker, a layup and free-throw from Brickley and Arnone's first of six three-pointers of the game. Mount Holyoke put an end to the run with a layup from Legare at 14:46. Five of the next six shots from the Blue and White came from behind the arc to extend their lead to 32-12 with 8:21 remaining in the first stanza. 

Mount Holyoke went on a 10-6 run, which featured two deep three-pointers and a layup from Karraker, and a layup from DeMarchena over the final 3:50 to close out the first half, 51-26, in favor of Wheaton. The Blue and White's 51 points in the opening half marks the highest output in an opening stanza for Wheaton since November 16, 2013 when the Lyons scored 63 points in their season opener against Lesley University.

The second stanza saw Wheaton push its lead to 34 points (66-32) with 14:58 remaining in the game after a fast break layup by Shoemaker. Mount Holyoke went on a quick 7-4 run that was capped with a pair of free throws from Legare, but the visitors never got any closer (73-43) as Wheaton went on to score 18 of the final 23 points to close out the game by a final of 91-48

Wheaton tied a single-game program record with 13 three-pointers on the day (13-for 22), which matches a pair of performances against Bridgewater State on January 2, 2011 and Coast Guard on January 14, 1997. Prior to today's 13 three-point effort, the Lyons had scored 10 or more three-pointers in a game this season coming against Clark (12), Suffolk (11) and Newbury (10).

The Blue and White shot 52.4-percent (33-for-63) from the field, 59.1-percent (13-for-22) from long range and 80.0-percent from the free throw line. Mount Holyoke shot 30.2-percent (19-for-63) from the floor, 25.0-percent (5-for-20) from behind the three-point line and 38.5-percent (5-for-13) from the charity stripe. Wheaton held a 29-10 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 40-26 margin in points in the paint. Mount Holyoke claimed a 13-12 total in second chance points.

Wheaton (6-5, 2-1 NEWMAC) returns to action on Wednesday when the Lyons host conference opponent MIT at 7 p.m., while Mount Holyoke (2-8, 0-2 NEWMAC) heads home to take on NEWMAC foe Clark University for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

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