NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's basketball team traveled to Smith College Saturday afternoon for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest in Ainsworth Gymnasium. The host Pioneers collected a 61-49 win. 

First-year Natalie Wind led the Lyons with 14 points off the bench, hitting 5-of-10 from the field. Classmate Chelsea Rairdon added nine points, while Sophia Black chipped in eight points and three rebounds. Sara McLeman finished with a team-high five rebounds, while Jill Bodreau and Lexi L'Heureux-Carland each finished with four boards. 

Kennedy Guest-Pritchett led the Pioneers with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Lauren Bondi added nine points in the win. 

The Pioneers jumped out to a 7-4 lead three minutes into the game, but the Lyons were not out of it, hitting back-to-back three pointers by Wind and Bodreau to give Wheaton its largest lead of the game with 4:53 left in the opening quarter. The home team battled back to take an 11-9 lead into the second quarter. 

Rebecca Olivieri put Wheaton back in front at the 9:12 mark in the second quarter with a three-pointer with a solid pass from Ruthie Zientek. The lead was short lived as the Pioneers put together a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to capture a 21-12 advantage. Wind hit two free-throws toward the end of the quarter to cut the Lyon deficit to 27-20 as the teams headed into halftime.

Smith increased its lead two double-digits in the third frame, capturing a 29-23 with 5:31 to go. Wheaton did not back down, keeping the pressure on the Pioneers, and getting as close as eight with 1:14 remaining until the fourth quarter. The Lyons got as close as nine in the final quarter, but the Pioneers quickly pushed their advantage to double-digits to close out the game. 

Wheaton closes out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Wellesley for a 2 p.m. tip. 

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