SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by host Springfield College, 79-56, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 9-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play, while the Pride win their third in a row and five of their last six to improve to 15-4 and 4-1.
Springfield committed just 10 turnovers on the day, while forcing Wheaton into 22 miscues that contributed to a 33-7 points off turnovers margin held by the home squad. The Pride's transition game was outstanding as well with a 20-5 advantage in points on the fast break. Springfield shot 44.3% (31-70) for the game and owned a 39-31 margin on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds. The Lyons shot 38.3% (18-47) from the floor, but were effective from three-point range, canning 40% (8-20) of their long-range attempts.
Sophomore guard Madeline Duwe (Greenville, S.C.) led Wheaton with 14 points, including four three-pointers, and added two rebounds and a steal, while junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) netted eight points, grabbed a pair of rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked two shots. Senior forward Maddie Mueller (Carver, Mass.) contributed with eight points and two rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.
Jaélen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) led all scorers with 24 points on an efficient 8-11 from the field in addition to five assists, three rebounds and a trio of steals for the Pride. Graduate student guard Rachel Vinton (Holden, Mass.) dropped in 20 points on 8-14 shooting, including four three-balls and added eight rebounds and three steals. Junior forward Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds to go with three assists and four steals.
The Lyons led for the majority of the opening quarter, taking a 5-2 lead, including a triple from Duwe at the 8:53 mark. Duwe kept Wheaton in front with a jumper coming with 3:38 to play in the first period to give the Lyons a 10-6 margin. Springfield ripped off five straight points, capped by a jumper from junior forward Lindsey Laughlan (Ellington, Conn.) to give the home team its first lead of the game at 11-10 with 2:41 showing in the quarter. The Lyons closed out the quarter with six unanswered points, capped by a pull-up jumper from Fernandes to give Wheaton a 16-11 lead after one quarter of play.
The Pride erased the deficit in a hurry, scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter, including four points each from first year guard Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) and Vinton, to take a 21-16 margin with 6:16 showing on the second quarter clock. Sophomore guard Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) stuck a jumper just over two minutes later to pull the Lyons within 22-20 with 4:04 to go in the quarter. Springfield reeled off six straight points with back-to-back triples from first year guard Kassidy Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) to take a 28-20 advantage with 2:38 showing. Sophomore forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) scored on a layup for the last points of the half to cut the halftime deficit to 28-22 for Wheaton.
The Pride began the third quarter with a 10-3 stretch, fueled by six points from Daubon, to give them a 38-25 cushion with 4:33 to go in the period. The Lyons roared back with seven unanswered points, including four from first year guard Tatum Young (Forsyth, Ill.), to pull within 38-32 at the 2:10 mark of the quarter. Springfield closed out the quarter with eight of the last 10 points to take a 46-34 lead into the final quarter of play.
Sophomore forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) converted a free throw to open the quarter for Wheaton and make it 46-35, but the Pride put the game out of reach with a 14-3 stretch, paced by six points from Daubon, to give the home team a commanding 60-38 advantage with 6:25 to play in the game.
Duwe knocked down a pair of threes during a 9-4 span that saw the Lyons cut the margin to 64-47, but it was as close as they would get the rest of the way. Springfield put together an 11-3 stretch to increase its lead to 75-50 for its largest lead of the afternoon with 2:07 remaining in the contest.
Wheaton returns to the court on Wednesday, January 31 when it hosts Salve Regina University at 7:00 p.m., while the Pride travel to North Dartmouth, Mass. on the same day to take on NEWMAC rival Mount Holyoke College at the same time.
