NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Bridgewater State University, 86-65, this afternoon at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 4-6 on the season, while the Bears improve to 4-5.
Bridgewater State outscored Wheaton by nine points in each of the final two quarters to help spell the difference. Wheaton committed 20 turnovers compared to the Bears' total of 11, which led to a 25-10 disparity in points off turnovers for the visitors. Bridgewater State owned a 47.2% (34-72) field goal percentage, despite hitting on just 23.1 (3-13) of its three-point shot attempts. The Lyons were held to just 38.0% (27-71) from the floor, including 18.2% (2-11) from three-point range.
Sophomore guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) led Wheaton with 13 points and fell just short of a double-double with nine rebounds in addition to handing out an assist and coming up with a steal. Senior forward Maddie Mueller (Carver, Mass.) netted a career-high 12 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting effort from the floor to go with three rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot, while senior forward Emma Kiernan (Wayland, Mass) chipped in with 12 points on 6-7 shooting and added three rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
Junior guard Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) scored a game-high 23 points, including eight of nine made free throw attempts to lead the Bears. She also added six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Senior guard Sydney Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) netted 18 points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out an assist and came up with a steal, while junior center Jessica D'Amours (Feeding Hills, Mass.) contributed with 12 points on 6-9 from the floor to go with seven boards, a game-high four blocks and two steals. Senior guard Caroline Tripp (Plymouth, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points, four assists, five rebounds and two steals as one of five players with double-digit points for the visitors.
Sophomore guard Madeline Duwe (Greenville, S.C.) knocked down a jumper outside the paint on a fast break to give the Lyons their largest lead at 45-42 with 1:35 to play in the opening half. Bridgewater State closed out the half with six unanswered points, capped by a steal and a fast break layup from D'Amours to give the Bears a 48-45 margin heading into the intermission.
Bridgewater State did not trail the rest of the way and continued its momentum into the second half with Bradbury scoring the first six points of the third quarter to give the Bears a 54-45 lead with 7:41 left in the period. Grassi later converted one of two free throws to bump Bridgewater State's lead to 65-52 with 42 ticks left in the third quarter. The Bears took a 12-point advantage into the fourth quarter and maintained their lead after Tripp made a layup with 7:34 to go in the quarter to make it 71-59.
Mueller and Walters finished back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to 71-63 for Wheaton with 6:40 showing in the quarter, but it was as close as the home team would get for the rest of the contest.
Bridgewater State finished the game with a crushing 15-2 stretch, including the final 11 points of the afternoon to come away with a 21-point win.
Junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) drilled a mid-range jumper to give the Lyons an early 5-2 margin with 1:48 gone in the opening quarter of play. The Bears put together a 15-4 stretch, including seven points from Bradbury, to take a 17-9 advantage with 2:53 remaining in the quarter. Grassi later canned a trifecta at the 2:06 mark of the quarter to increase Bridgewater State's cushion to 22-13.
First year guard Tatum Young (Forsyth, Ill.) sank a pair of free throws later in the quarter to pull Wheaton to within 22-19 with 59 ticks left in the opening period, before Tripp converted a fast break layup off a turnover to provide a five-point lead for the Bears before the first quarter horn sounded.
Junior forward Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) made a layup at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter to bump Bridgewater State's margin to 28-19, but the Lyons came alive with an 18-8 run to reclaim the lead at 37-36 with 4:13 to go in the quarter. Sophomore forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) led Wheaton's stretch with five points, before Duwe's jumper gave the home team a three-point lead later in the quarter.
The Lyons return to the court when they head to Wenham, Mass. to play Gordon College on Friday, December 29 at 1:00 p.m., while the Bears return to action on December 15 when they travel to Hilo, Hawaii to take on Angelo State University for an 11:00 p.m. EST. tip-off as part of the Big Island Holiday Classic.
