GORHAM, Maine – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was unable to hold off a huge fourth-quarter run by host University of Southern Maine in a 60-46 defeat this afternoon at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine.
The Lyons dip to 1-3 on the season while the Huskies improve to 2-1.
Neither team shot very well in the game with Wheaton owning a 36.4% (16-44) percentage, while Southern Maine was 17-56 for a 30.4% success rate. The Huskies owned a narrow 37-35 rebounding margin, but controlled the offensive glass with 13 offensive boards that translated to a 16-7 difference in second chance points. Wheaton didn't do itself any favors, turning the ball over 31 times in the game.
Junior guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) led the Lyons with 14 points on 5-7 shooting to go with five rebounds, two assists and five steals, while classmate Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) netted 12 points on 4-7 from the field in addition to pulling down seven rebounds.
Junior guard Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) led all scorers with 21 points and added five rebounds, an assist and a game-high six steals for Southern Maine. Graduate student guard Liz Cote (Conway, N.H.) contributed with 15 points, including four three-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds to go with a pair of steals, while first year guard Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine) had 10 points, three rebounds, a trio of assists and a blocked shot.
Wheaton's defense held its host to just 3-14 (21.4%) shooting in the opening quarter and took advantage with a 16-4 opening run. The opening surge was fueled by six points from Walters and five from senior guard Greta Minos (Boston, Mass.) to give the Lyons a 12-point advantage with 4:03 left in the quarter. Wheaton maintained its hold over the Huskies, taking a 20-9 margin into the second quarter.
Arnold converted a layup to give the Lyons a 22-13 cushion with 6:59 showing on the second quarter clock, but Wheaton's fortunes changed in a blink as Southern Maine ripped off nine straight points in a span of 1:54 to knot the game at 22-22 after a layup from sophomore guard Campbell Doughty (Ashland, Va.) at the 5:05 mark of the period. The visitors shot just 1-11 in the quarter and the teams remained deadlocked at the intermission, 24-24.
The teams battled throughout the third quarter, trading the lead four times before the Huskies took a one-point edge into the final quarter of play.
Cote canned a trifecta 42 seconds into the third quarter to give the home team its first lead at 27-24. The Lyons roared back with the next six points on back-to-back triples from Arnold and Walters to take a 32-29 lead with 6:47 to play in the quarter.
The schools traded the advantage twice, before Wheaton took a 40-35 lead after one of two free throws from junior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) coming with 1:40 showing on the third quarter clock. Vaughan netted the final six points of the period to give Southern Maine a 41-40 edge.
Arnold sank a pair of free throws to reclaim the lead for the Lyons at 44-43 with 8:38 remaining in the game, but the Huskies put the game out of reach by scoring 16 unanswered points over the next six-plus minutes to take a 59-44 cushion with 2:29 left to go. Wheaton was never able to get on track offensively, hitting just two of nine field goal attempts in the quarter.
The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, November 20 when they travel to Boston, Mass. to take on Suffolk University at 7:00 p.m., while Southern Maine heads to Farmington, Maine on the same night to play University of Maine Farmington at 5:00 p.m.
