WENHAM, Mass. — Sophomore guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) scored 18 points and the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team's defense held host Gordon College to just six fourth-quarter points in a 58-49 victory for the Lyons this afternoon at Kansas Court in Wenham, Mass.
Wheaton improves to 5-6 on the season, while the Fighting Scots fall to 1-9.
Gordon's point total was the fewest allowed by the Lyons this season as they held the Fighting Scots to just a 29.2% (19-65) field goal percentage. Wheaton shot 34.4% (21-61) from the floor and held a 47-41 margin on the glass.
Walters netted a season-high 18 points and matched her career-best with five steals to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists for the Lyons. Junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) scored 12 points, including six during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter, and added five assists, four rebounds and a blocked shot. Sophomore forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) chipped in with six points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal.
Junior guard Ami Rivera (Concord, N.H.) led Gordon with 11 points in addition to grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists, while senior forward Sydney Noyes (Newbury, Mass.) contributed with eight points, nine boards, three steals, two blocks and two assists. Sophomore guard Naomi Nicholson (Eagle Mountain, Utah) led all playmakers with seven assists and added eight points, four rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot.
Wheaton essentially came away with the win after holding the Fighting Scots without a point during a six-minute, 10-second stretch, while ripping off 12 unanswered points to take a 56-47 lead with just 29 ticks left in the game. Fernandes scored six points during the run that erased a three-point deficit after Noyes gave the home team a 47-44 lead with a layup at the 6:39 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Lyons jumped out to an early 7-3 lead after Arnold and sophomore guard Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) each buried a three-pointer. The Fighting Scots punched back with seven straight points, including five from first year guard Sophie Peters (Sidney, Mont.), to give the home team a 10-7 margin with 5:52 left in the opening period. Wheaton countered with the next five points to reclaim the lead after Arnold completed a three-point play with a free throw to give the Lyons a 12-10 margin. Fernandes later knocked down a jumper for the last points of the quarter at 2:23 to keep the visitors' lead at two.
Wheaton scored the first five points of the second quarter to bump its lead to 19-12 at the 8:42 mark. Gordon chipped away during a 15-6 stretch, capped by a trifecta from sophomore guard Olivia Brown (Longmeadow, Mass.) at 2:57, to give the Fighting Scots its first lead (27-25) since midway through the first quarter. Sophomore guard Madeline Duwe (Greenville, S.C.) reclaimed the lead for the Lyons with a three-ball coming just 16 seconds later for a 28-27 edge. Rivera scored the final four points of the half for Gordon to give the home squad a 31-28 lead at the intermission.
The Fighting Scots went on a 7-2 run early in the third quarter to take their biggest lead of the afternoon at 38-33 after a Noyes layup at 5:36. Walters canned a jumper to pull Wheaton within a point at 38-37 and first year guard Tatum Young (Forsyth, Ill.) drilled a three-pointer with 50 seconds left in the quarter to keep it a one-point deficit for the Lyons at 43-42. Gordon never trailed in the period and clung to a one-point edge heading into the final quarter of play.
Walters scored on a layup on Wheaton's first possession of the quarter to give the Lyons a 44-43 lead, before the Fighting Scots took a three-point lead with the next four points. Gordon scored just two points the rest of the way as Wheaton came away with the victory.
The Lyons return to action on Sunday, December 31 when they travel to Dorchester, Mass. to take on University of Massachusetts Boston at 11:00 a.m., while Gordon returns to the court in the New Year with a January 2 home contest with Endicott College at 5:30 p.m.
