NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Rivier University, 68-50, this afternoon in the Consolation Game of Wheaton College Tip-Off Tournament at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 0-2 on the season, while the Raiders improve to 1-2.
Rivier held Wheaton to just 30.5% (18-59) shooting, including 0-14 from three-point range, and took advantage of 23 turnovers by outscoring the Lyons, 25-12 in points off turnovers.
Junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) led Wheaton with an outstanding all-around effort that saw her score 16 points on 7-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a game-high six steals. Sophomore guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) netted 12 points on 3-6 from the floor in addition to pulling down seven rebounds and making a steal, while classmate Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) contributed with eight points, eight rebounds and a game-high four blocks. Sophomore forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) pulled down eight rebounds, added seven points and an assist and was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Junior guard Alexa Dufries (22) and senior guard Lyric Grumblatt (19) combined to score 41 points to lead the Raiders. Dufries added five rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Grumblatt grabbed six boards, came up with five steals and dished out a pair of assists and was named to the All-Tournament Team for Rivier. Senior guard Hannah Muchemore (Nashua, N.H.) chipped in with 10 points, two assists and two steals.
Rivier never trailed in the game after scoring the first seven points of the contest, capped by a turnaround jumper from Dufries with 7:21 to play in the opening quarter. Muchemore buried a three-pointer later in the period to extend the visitors' lead to 17-7 with 3:36 left in the quarter. The Lyons scored five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 18-12 after a pair of free throws from Walters for the final points of the period with 59 ticks left.
Wheaton opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run capped by a jumper from Fernandes to pull the home team with a point at 20-19 with 6:23 showing in the period. The Raiders went on a 6-1 run, led by four points from Dufries, to increase their lead to 26-20 with 2:12 to go in the first half and took a 28-22 margin into the intermission.
The Lyons scored the first six points of the third quarter to knot the score at 28-28 after Walters converted a fastbreak layup with 8:13 remaining in the period. Fernandes kept Wheaton within two scores with a fastbreak layup of her own to make it 38-34 with 3:40 showing on the third quarter clock.
In a matter of just under three minutes Rivier put the game out of reach after ripping off 11 unanswered points, including five from Grumblatt, to take a 49-34 advantage with 46 seconds left in the quarter. Keyter converted a layup for the last points of the quarter for the Lyons to cut the deficit to 49-36 before the start of the fourth quarter.
Dufries scored five points during a 7-0 stretch that gave the Raiders their largest lead at 61-40 with 4:58 to play in the game. Wheaton got no closer than within 15 points for the remainder of the contest.
The Lyons will return to action on Wednesday, November 15 when they head to Newton, Mass. to take on Lasell University at 7:00 p.m., while Rivier plays on November 14 when it hosts Plymouth State University at 7:00 p.m.
