NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 73-62, this afternoon in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference tilt at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. The Lyons fall to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in league play, while the Engineers improve to 6-7 and 2-1.

MIT owned a 48-39 rebounding margin, including 20 offensive boards that spurred an 18-8 advantage in second chance points for the visitors.

First year guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) scored 16 points and added five rebounds and three assists for Wheaton. Senior forward Sadie Shore (Portsmouth, N.H.) pulled down eight rebounds and scored 15 points, including a 9-11 effort from the free throw line, to go with an assist and a blocked shot. Senior guard Alexis Romer (Delray Beach, Fla.) contributed with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals.

Senior forward Kylie Gallagher (Upton, Mass.) was one of four players to score in double-digits with a game-high 16 points to lead the Engineers. Gallagher was 6-12 from the floor and added seven rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot for the Engineers. Senior guard Annika Sougstad (Mahtomedi, Minn.) posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with five steals, while senior guard Christina Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) netted 13 points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out five assists and came up with a steal. First year forward Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, Ill.) also registered a double-double for MIT with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

MIT led by as many as nine points in the third quarter, before taking a 53-46 lead into the final quarter of play. The Lyons put together a 12-3 run, capped by a pair of Shore free throws to give them their first lead of the day at 58-56 with 6:34 to play in the game. The Engineers responded with eight unanswered points as part of a 17-4 stretch to close out the game and come away with the victory. 

MIT scored eight of the game's first 10 points to take an early six-point lead with 6:56 showing in the opening quarter. The team's played within four points of each other for the remainder of the quarter, before the Engineers claimed an 18-16 margin at the end of the period. MIT was unable to put any separation between itself and the home Lyons with the quarter featuring four ties. First year guard Greta Minos (West Roxbury, Mass.) converted a fast-break lay-up to pull Wheaton even at 27-27, before first year guard Elise Harvey (Wayland, Mass.) made a lay-up with 29 ticks left in the half to give the Engineers a 29-27 lead at the intermission. 

MIT went on a 9-2 run to begin the second half to take a 38-29 advantage with 7:06 showing in the third quarter and later maintained a 42-33 lead at the 5:06 mark. Shore capped six straight points for the Lyons with a lay-up to cut the deficit to 42-39 with 3:50 left in the quarter. The Engineers bumped their lead back to seven at quarter's end, before Wheaton put together it's final dominant stretch to take its only lead in the fourth quarter.

The Lyons return to the hardwood on Wednesday, January 26 when they travel to Worcester, Mass. to take on NEWMAC rival Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 7:00 p.m., while MIT hosts Springfield College at 6:00 p.m. on the same night.