Brickley moves into second all-time on career points list

POSTGAME COMMENTS | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

NORTON, Mass. – Junior guard Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) registered her second career double-double and senior forward Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) moved into second place on the all-time scoring list to guide the Wheaton College women's basketball team to a 73-61 victory over Emerson College on Senior Night inside Emerson Gymnasium.

Prior to tonight's game, Brickley and fellow seniors Kirsten Ferrari (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's), Kenzie Kuhn (Glenwood Springs, Colo./Glenwood Springs) and Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) were all honored for their contributions towards the women's basketball program.

Arnone collected her second career double-double by compiling 11 points and 11 rebounds (four offensive) alongside three assists and one steal. Brickley paced the Lyons offensively with 18 points to surpass Allyson Aube '95 for second place on the all-time scoring list. Brickley, who also added six rebounds and four assists in the win, has 1,467 points in her career.

Ferrari chipped in with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Pierce notched nine points, two rebounds and four assists. Kuhn rounded out the senior class with two points, seven rebounds and one assist. First-year forward Oppie Morris (Ware, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) also tallied nine points and hauled in three rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench for the Blue and White.

Emerson first-year guard Eastin Ashby (Pittston, Penn./Pittston Area) led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting (4-of-8 3PT, 1-1 FT). Junior forward Kelsey Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) contributed seven points and six rebounds, while first-year forward Sierra Ducey (Poway, Calif./The Bishop's School) turned in eight points, three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.

Wheaton surged out to a 23-9 advantage over the opening 7:44 of action receiving eight points from Brickley, six via Pierce, five from Ferrari and another four points by Arnone. The Lyons then held Emerson scoreless for the next 7:25 to bump their lead to as many as 24 points (33-9) before the visitors stopped their scoring drought with a three-pointer by Ashby at the 4:39 mark.

The Lions brought the game within 15 points with 32-seconds to play in the stanza before first-year guard Emily Cuthbertson (Hudson, N.H./New Hampton School) buried a trey with seven seconds to play to send the hosts into the break with a 41-23 lead.

Emerson worked its way back into the matchup despite facing a 27-point (56-29) deficit with 13:24 remaining in the second half. The Lions used a 26-10 run over the next 10:14 of play to make it 66-55 contest with 3:10 to go. Ashby spearheaded the spurt with 11 points, while Johnson added seven, Ducey had five and senior guard Marissa Nobile (Branford, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) canned a three-pointer at the 6:25 mark, which brought the score to 62-50.

Wheaton turned away any potential rally by Emerson at the free throw line hitting seven attempts from the charity stripe down the stretch to secure its 12th conference victory of the season. In all three prior seasons that the Lyons have claimed 12 conference wins or more they have reached the NEWMAC Tournament semifinal round (2007-08; 2009-10; 2013-14).

The Blue and White posted a 49-30 differential on the glass, which included a 19-8 margin on the offensive boards, and outscored Emerson 38-28 in the paint. The Lions bench tallied 50 out of its 61 points on the night with 23 coming from Ashby.

Wheaton (17-7, 12-3 NEWMAC) travels to Babson College on Saturday, February 21 at 1 p.m. for its regular season finale against the Beavers. Emerson (11-13, 5-10 NEWMAC) closes out its schedule versus Clark University this coming Saturday at 1 p.m. on the road.

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