Lyons set single-game 3-point field goal record

WORCESTER, Mass. – Junior guard Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) came off the bench to pace five Wheaton College student-athletes in double figures with 19 points as the visiting Lyons drained a school-record 15 3-pointers en route to an impressive 79-62 victory over WPI on Senior Day Saturday in Harrington Auditorium.

The Blue and White connected on an eye-popping 55.6-percent of their 3-point attempts, and actually shot better from long range than on 2-pointers (16-of-31 for 51.6%). The guests saw four different student-athletes notch trifectas, including Arnone, who drilled five on her way to posting 19 points. The previous program record was 13 3-pointers, set on January 14, 1997 against Coast Guard and match versus Bridgewater State on January 2, 2011.

Arnone was joined in double figures in scoring by four of Wheaton's starters, including senior guard Kirsten Ferrari (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's) with 12 (all on 3-pointers) and junior forward Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius), senior forward Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) and senior guard Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) who all finished with 11 points.

WPI led by seven at 22-15 midway through the first half before the Lyons scored 26 of the stanza's final 36 points with the first nine coming consecutively via the 3-ball. Wheaton led 41-30 at the half but saw the hosts whittle the deficit to six at 44-38 on a Jessica Larsen (Poway, Calif./Poway) layup 3:45 into the second half.  The Blue and White again went to the long ball and used a pair of shot clock-beating 3-pointers by first-year guard Emily Cuthbertson (Hudson, N.H./New Hampton School) over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach.

Pierce registered her first career double-double in the contest as the senior guard dished out ten assists to go along with her 11 points. Pierce has now registered ten or more assists in a game four times this season. Brickley and Shoemaker flirted with double-doubles, ending with nine and eight rebounds, respectively, while Shoemaker led all student-athletes with three blocks. Arnone capped her strong day with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

With her five 3-pointers on the afternoon, Arnone now ranks seventh all-time in 3-point field goals made (109), while Pierce is currently in a tie for fifth all-time (115).

Dani Davis (East Granby, Conn./East Granby) headlined Senior Day for WPI with a career-best 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. Davis jumped to 15th on the all-time scoring list passing Hall of Famer Jennifer Lovin and former teammate Theresa Logan with 1,037 career points. Classmates Rachel Pineda (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) and Amaia Gritsko (Milford, Conn./St. Joseph) also stood out for the Crimson and Gray. Pineda doled out five assists without committing a turnover and swiped three steals, while Gritsko finished with six points, three rebounds and a block. 

First-year Ama Biney (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) added 11 points for the Engineers and Larsen pitched in with seven.

Wheaton (16-7, 11-3 NEWMAC) returns home from a three-game road trip next Wednesday to host Emerson at 8 p.m. on Senior Night. WPI (15-8, 8-6 NEWMAC) travels to Smith College on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference matchup.

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