NORTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) scored 14 points and the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team held visiting Plymouth State University to just two points in the opening quarter of a 51-32 victory this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons win their third straight game to improve to 7-6 on the season, while the Panthers fall to 5-4.
Plymouth State shot just 20.4% (11-54) from the floor, including 0-11 in the first quarter. The Panthers made just two of 17 shots from long range for an 11.8% rate from three-point range. Wheaton held a 45-37 rebounding advantage in the game and limited Plymouth State to single-digit points in the first (two) and third (eight) quarters. The home team held its opponent under 50 points for the third consecutive game.
Keyter was 6-10 from the field and added seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal for the Lyons, while sophomore guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) contributed with nine points, eight boards and four steals. Junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) led all play makers with six assists to go with three steals and a rebound.
Junior guard Bri Wilcox (Londonderry, N.H.) scored six points, pulled down three rebounds, dished out an assist and came up with a steal for the Panthers and graduate student guard Lea Crompton (Dunbarton, N.H.) chipped in with six points, four rebounds and a steal. First year forward Ashley Stephens (Pembroke, N.H.) was a force on the defensive side of the court for the visitors with a game-high five blocks in addition to eight rebounds and two points.
Wheaton scored the first 13 points of the game, including five from Keyter and four from first year guard Tatum Young (Forsyth, Ill.). Plymouth State missed its first 11 field goal attempts and scored its first point of the game when sophomore guard Raegan Peck (Dudley, Mass.) made the first of two free throws with 59 ticks left in the first period. Wilcox added another point with the second of two free throw attempts coming with 11 seconds left to make it 13-2 before the end of the opening quarter of play.
The Panthers continued their momentum into the second quarter with four straight points from Crompton to pull them to within 13-6 with 8:39 showing on the second period clock. The Lyons put together an 8-4 stretch, capped by a Keyter fast-break layup to increase their advantage to 21-10 with 3:50 to go in the opening half. Junior forward Alli Ingalls (Hampstead, N.H.) buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the margin to 21-13 for Plymouth State at the intermission.
Again, the Panthers built on their late quarter momentum, scoring the first five points of the third quarter, punctuated by a free throw to complete a three-point play from Wilcox to pull the visitors within 21-18 with 8:17 remaining in the quarter. It was as close as they would get for the rest of the night.
Wheaton effectively put the game out of reach with a 13-2 stretch over the next seven-plus minutes, paced by seven points from Walters, to take a 34-20 lead with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. Junior guard Raven Premont (Barre, Vt.) added a free throw for the last point of the quarter for Plymouth State to make it 34-21 after three quarters of play.
Stephens hit a floating jumper in the lane to keep the Panthers to within 39-25 with 6:38 to play in the contest, before the Lyons scored 10 of the next 12 points, including five from first year guard Aniyah Boston (Linden, N.J.), to bump the home team's cushion to 49-27 with 96 seconds remaining in the game.
Wheaton returns to the court on Saturday, January 6 when it hosts Eastern Connecticut State University at Emerson Gymnasium for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off and its third straight game against a Little East Conference opponent, while Plymouth State heads to Providence, R.I. to play LEC foe No. 3/4 Rhode Island College on the same day at the same time.
