NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Springfield College, 69-62, this afternoon in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference opener at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Pride improve to 11-5 overall and 1-0 in the league, while the Lyons fall to 10-6 and 0-1.

Springfield owned a decisive 35-27 rebounding advantage that resulted in a 12-2 difference in second-chance points for the Pride. Both teams shot well from beyond three-point range with Springfield owning a 42.9% (9-21) clip and Wheaton shooting 46.7% (7-15). The Pride finished the game shooting 43.1% (25-58) overall, while the Lyons were 45.3% (24-53) from the field.

First year forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) was one of four players to score double-digits for Wheaton and finished with 14 points on 6-12 shooting to go with two blocks and a steal in 20 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Greta Minos (Boston, Mass.) netted 12 points on 4-6 from three-point range to go with two rebounds and an assist and classmate Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) contributed with 11 points, two rebounds, two steals and a game-high five assists. First year guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) also scored 11 points in addition to six boards, a steal and an assist.

Senior forward Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) netted a game-high 21 points and added six rebounds, two steals and a block for Springfield. Junior guard Jaélen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) contributed with 16 points on 5-6 from the floor, including all three of her tries from beyond the arc, in addition to a rebound in 23-plus minutes off the bench. Senior guard Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, two rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Fernandes knocked down a jumper in the paint to pull the Lyons to within 6-5 at 6:32 of the first quarter, before the Pride scored the next eight points, including six from Hourihan, to take a 14-5 advantage with 4:50 to play in the quarter.

Springfield maintained a 16-7 margin with 3:44 showing in the first period, but Wheaton cut the deficit to 16-10 at the three-minute mark. The Pride received back-to-back three-balls from Daubon in the final 61 seconds to give them a 22-10 lead after one quarter of play.

Springfield later owned a 25-15 cushion at 6:25 of the second quarter, before the Lyons went on an 8-3 burst to cut the margin to 28-23 with 2:39 to play in the opening half. It was as close as Wheaton would get for the remainder of the afternoon. The Pride asserted themselves with 12 unanswered points, including a pair of trifectas from Hourihan, to give the visitors a 40-23 lead at the intermission. 

Springfield held a 43-27 margin at 8:20 of the third quarter before the Lyons scored eight of the next 10 points to close to within 45-35 with 5:18 left in the period. 

The Pride put together a 12-5 stretch over the next four-plus minutes to increase their lead to 57-40 with 55 ticks left in the third quarter and took a 57-41 advantage into the final period of play.

Wheaton outscored its guests, 21-12, in the final quarter, including a 7-0 run to begin the quarter. Keyter scored five points during the opening run for the Lyons to pull them to within 57-48 at the 7:04 mark. 

Springfield owned a 63-50 lead with 5:12 to play, before Wheaton looked for a final comeback. The Lyons registered an 11-4 stretch, including seven points from Walters, to pull within 67-61 with 1:43 showing on the fourth quarter clock, but it was as close as they would get.

Wheaton returns to the court on Wednesday, January 18 when it heads to Boston, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Emerson College at 7:00 p.m., while the Pride travel to Wellesley, Mass. to play conference opponent Wellesley College on January 21 at 1:00 p.m.