NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Roger Williams University, 73-44, this afternoon at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons' seven-game win streak ends as they dip to 8-2 on the season, while the Hawks win their sixth straight to improve to 7-2.

Roger Williams shot 45.6% (31-68) for the game, while holding Wheaton to just 29.2% (14-48) and forcing 18 turnovers that translated to an 18-7 points off turnovers margin. RWU dominated the glass with a 45-31 rebound count and owned a 19-5 advantage in second chance points.

Sophomore guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) netted 17 points, including 11-12 from the free throw line and added two rebounds, three steals and an assist for the Lyons. First year forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) chipped in with eight points, five boards, a steal and a block and sophomore guard Greta Minos (Boston, Mass.) dropped in four points, grabbed five rebounds, handed out four assists and came up with two steals.

Junior guard Katie Galligan (Pembroke, Mass.) scored a game-high 17 points on 7-13 from the floor and added six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals for the Hawks, while junior guard Caroline Elie (Rockland, Mass.) was a rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds to go with game-highs of four assists, seven steals and a blocked shot. Senior forward Kendi Barnard (Bedford, N.H.) contributed with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.

Roger Williams held Wheaton scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the game, while scoring 14 unanswered points, including four each from Galligan and Barnard. The Hawks never looked back after their opening run. 

The Lyons cut the deficit to 10 following an 8-4 run, paced by four points each from Fernandes and Keyter, to make it 18-8 with 3:04 left in the opening quarter. Roger Williams countered by closing out the period with seven straight points to take a 25-8 cushion after one quarter of play. 

The Hawks maintained a 29-12 lead with 6:50 to play in the second quarter, before Wheaton ripped off six unanswered points on three-pointers from Minos and sophomore guard Sydney Ropes (Duxbury, Mass.) to pull within 29-18 at the 6:07 mark of the quarter. 

Roger Williams put together a 13-3 stretch, fueled by five points each from Elie and senior guard Sophie Araneo (Brandford, Conn.), to increase the lead to 42-21 at the intermission. 

The Hawks began the third quarter with a 10-4 burst to give them a 52-25 advantage with 4:54 showing on the third quarter clock. The Lyons made one last push with a 10-2 blitz behind five points from Fernandes to cut the margin to 54-35 with 67 seconds left in the period. Fernandes later canned a jumper with a second left in the quarter to set the score at 58-39 in favor of the visitors after three quarters of play.

Roger Williams dashed any hopes for a Wheaton comeback in the fourth quarter by scoring the first 11 points of the session to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 69-39 with 5:16 remaining in the game. The Hawks cruised the rest of the way for the win.

Wheaton plays again on Monday, December 19 when it challenges Stevenson University at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. in the Daytona Beach Shootout at 3:00 p.m., while Roger Williams returns to action on January 3 when it heads to Biddeford, Maine to take on University of New England at 1:00 p.m.