CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by host Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 67-49, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Rockwell Cage in Cambridge, Mass. 

The Lyons fall to 11-7 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Engineers improve to 9-8 and 2-1.

MIT dominated the boards with a 49-34 rebounding advantage and held Wheaton to just 31.7% (19-60) shooting, despite the Lyons hitting from three-point range at a 40% (8-20) clip. The Engineers were also effective from long range, hitting 42.9% (6-14) of their three-point tries.

First year forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) scored 16 points to go with seven rebounds to lead Wheaton and added an assist, a steal and a blocked shot in 23 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Greta Minos (Boston, Mass.) contributed with 14 points on 5-9 from the floor, including 4-7 from three-point range in addition to a pair of rebounds, a steal and an assist.

Sophomore guard Angie Choi (Cypress, Calif.) led all scorers with 18 points and was 4-7 from beyond the arc for MIT. She also pulled down four rebounds, handed out an assist and came up with three steals. Sophomore forward Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, Ill.) posted her fifth double-double with 14 points and 12 boards to go with a steal and a block and first year forward Alice Hall (Ambler, Pa.) chipped in with 12 points on 6-12 from the field in addition to nine rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

MIT led from start to finish and opened up a 21-5 lead after the first quarter, fueled by a 16-1 run paced by five points from Choi.

First year forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) and sophomore guard Sydney Ropes (Duxbury, Mass.) each drained a three-pointer during an 8-2 response for the Lyons to pull them to within 23-13 at the 7:18 mark of the second quarter. 

The Engineers came back with a 15-3 run, led by six points from Nwogu, to increase their lead to 38-16 with 91 seconds to go in the half, before taking a 38-19 margin into the intermission.

MIT maintained a 49-29 cushion with 3:28 showing in the third quarter, but Wheaton ripped off seven straight points, including four from Keyter, to cut the deficit to 49-36 with 35 ticks left in the third quarter.  Choi drilled a trifecta for the Engineers to give them a 52-36 margin heading into the final quarter of play. 

Arnold completed a three-point play with a free throw to pull the Lyons to within 54-41 at the 7:36 mark of the fourth quarter, but it was as close as the visitors would get. 

Wheaton returns to play on Wednesday, January 25 when it hosts NEWMAC rival Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 8:00 p.m. The Lyons will dedicate their game to the Morgan's Message initiative to bring awareness to the importance of Mental Health. MIT returns to the court on the same night when they travel to Springfield, Mass. to take on Springfield College in league action at 7:30 p.m.