NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was unable to surpass visiting Emerson College this evening in a 53-50 loss in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons fall to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the Lions win their second straight and third of their last four to improve to 5-9 overall and 2-0. 

Emerson outscored its host, 25-15, in points off turnovers to spell the difference in the game. Both teams combined for 40 turnovers and each team shot just 50% from the free throw line.

Senior forward Sadie Shore (Portsmouth, N.H.) scored 11 points on 3-6 from the field to go with nine rebounds, an assist and a pair of blocked shots to lead Wheaton, and first year guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. First year guard Riley Sprague (Jamestown, R.I.) came off the bench to score eight points, pull down four rebounds, hand out two assists and make a pair of steals.

Sophomore guard Ella Bushee (Walpole, N.H.) scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Lions and was 7-11 from the floor in addition to eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Senior forward Katie Beckmann (Sarasota, Fla.) contributed with 11 points, six boards and a blocked shot, while sophomore guard Olivia Deslauriers (West Hartford, Conn.) netted 11 points, grabbed a rebound, handed out four assists, came up with a steal and blocked a shot.

Beckmann gave Emerson a 47-38 cushion at 7:11 of the fourth quarter, before the Lyons pulled to within a field goal after a 10-3 run, to cut the deficit to 50-48 with 62 ticks left in the game. Shore converted a pair of free throws to keep the home team within 52-50 with 19 seconds to play, but it was as close as Wheaton would get.

The teams played within four points of another in the opening quarter before the Lyons settled for a 14-13 edge at the end of the opening quarter following a mid-range jumper from sophomore forward Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.). 

The Lions looked to establish some separation with the first nine points of the second quarter to take a 22-14 margin with 7:38 remaining in the opening half. Wheaton countered with nine consecutive points of its own, capped by a pair of three-pointers from Sprague to pull the Lyons to within 24-23 at the 3:52 mark of the quarter. Senior guard Alexis Romer (Delray Beach, Fla.) drilled a trifecta with 33 seconds left in the half for Wheaton before first year forward Mackenzie Bruno (Howell, N.J.) made a layup for Emerson to knot the game at 28-28 at the intermission.

Fernandes gave the Lyons a 30-28 lead with a lay-up just one minute into the third quarter, before Emerson ripped off 12 unanswered points, including eight from Bushee, to take a 40-30 advantage with 3:53 left in the quarter. Sophomore guard Ava Salti (Melville, N.Y.) knocked down a three-pointer two and a half minutes later to give the visitors their largest lead at 43-32 with 1:24 showing in the third quarter. The Lions took a 43-33 lead into the final quarter of play.

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, January 22 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Emerson Gymnasium at 3:00 p.m., while Emerson host Eastern Nazarene College at 1:00 p.m. on the same day.