NEWTON, Mass. – Sophomores Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) (16) and Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) (15) combined for 31 points to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team to a 66-61 victory over host Lasell University this evening at the Lasell Athletic Center in Newton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 1-2 on the season, while the Lasers fall to 1-2.
Wheaton committed just 12 turnovers in the game, while forcing Lasell into 23 miscues with the Lyons owning a 13-4 advantage in points off turnovers for the difference in the game. The Lasers were awarded just eight free throw tries during the evening, making eight of them, while Wheaton was 14-23 from the line. Lasell kept itself in the game with its prowess on the glass leading to a 47-37 rebound margin and also doubled up its guests with eight made three-pointers.
Walters added four rebounds, an assist and a steal to her night, while Arnold snared three rebounds and handed out two assists for the Lyons. Classmate Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) posted her second double-double in less than a week with 13 points and 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks in 24 minutes off the bench, while junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) led all playmakers with six assists to go with five points, three rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore guard Kiara Cerutti (Canton, Mass.) led the Lasers with a game-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Shirle Major (Worcester, Mass.) scored 14 points, pulled down three rebounds and dished for an assist. Graduate student guard Brooke Damboise (Bolton, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points, two rebounds and an assist.
Cerutti converted a layup with 4:28 left in the opening quarter to give Lasell a 7-6 edge, but it was the last lead of the night for the home team. Wheaton ripped off the next seven points, including a three-pointer from sophomore guard Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.), to take the lead for good at 13-7 at the end of the quarter.
The Lasers closed to within 13-11 following a Laura Johnson (Groton, Conn.) layup with 8:36 showing on the second quarter clock, before the Lyons scored the next 11 points, including four from Arnold, to take their largest lead of the night at 24-11 with 5:17 to play in the opening half. Lasell answered by scoring eight of the next nine points, including a trifecta from Damboise to pull the home team to within 25-19 with 3:22 remaining in the second quarter. A jump shot from Major at the buzzer gave the Lasers the final points of the half to make it a 29-22 Wheaton advantage at the break.
The Lyons extended their lead to 35-24 following a Fernandes jumper at 8:04 of the third quarter, but Lasell stayed resilient in its home gym with an 11-2 stretch, fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Cerutti, to cut the deficit to 37-35 with 4:21 left in the period. Wheaton responded in kind by closing out the quarter with an 8-3 run, including a trey from Keyter, to bump the visitor's lead to 45-38 with one quarter to play.
Walters later converted a layup to give the Lyons a 53-44 advantage with 6:53 showing on the fourth quarter clock. The Lasers made one final push in the quarter, putting together a 10-2 blitz, paced by five points from Major, to cut the margin to just a point at 55-54 with 2:52 to play in the contest.
Wheaton held Lasell off with a 9-3 run in the final minutes, capped by a clutch three-pointer from junior guard Sydney Ropes (Duxbury, Mass.), to give it a 64-57 advantage with just 40 ticks left on the clock. Junior forward Mia Sullivan-Sanders (Anaconda, Mont.) made a layup for the home team's last points of the night to bring the Lasers to within 65-61, but it was too late with seven seconds to go in the game.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, November 18 when they travel to Beverly, Mass. to take on Endicott College at 4:00 p.m., while Lasell hosts Salem State University on the same day at 1:00 p.m.
