NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Johnson & Wales University (R.I.), 74-51, this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 1-6 on the season, while the Wildcats improve to a perfect 5-0.
Johnson & Wales was held to just 35.1% (26-74) shooting, but was able to convert 17 of 19 free throws for an 89.5% mark. Wheaton shot a meager 27.4% (20-73), including 2-22 in the fourth quarter for a 9.1% rate, and was just 2-24 (8.3%) from three-point range. The Lyons held a 53-50 rebounding edge for the eighth-highest rebound total in school history for a game.
Senior forward Mireille Tona (Portland, Maine) led Wheaton with a career effort of her own, posting her first career double-double with personal-bests of 17 points and 13 rebounds. She was 6-10 from the field to go with a steal and an assist in 26 minutes off the bench. Sophomore forward Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.) chipped in with nine points, six rebounds an assist and a steal.
First year forward Grace Jaffrey (Blue Hill, Maine) poured in a school-record 43 points, including 29 in the second half, to lead the Hawks. She made 14 of 15 free throws and added 10 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double to go with a game-high five steals and two assists. First year guard Isabella Suero (Newburgh, N.Y.) scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with a pair of steals, while junior forward Mikayla Caruso (Newton, N.J.) contributed with a game-high 13 rebounds, six points, an assist and a steal.
Johnson & Wales held the Lyons scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the game and built a 15-5 lead, fueled by a pair of trifectas from Suero, with 3:51 to play in the opening quarter. The Lyons closed the quarter with a 9-4 run, including five points from Colbert, to cut the deficit to 19-14 at the end of the period.
Tona converted a layup at the 8:04 mark of the second quarter to pull Wheaton within 21-18, but it was as close as the Lyons would get for the rest of the night. The Wildcats put together a 13-6 stretch, led by six points from first year forward Brianna Foley (New Rochelle, N.Y.), to increase their lead to 34-24 with 3:15 showing on the second quarter clock. Wheaton ripped off the final six points of the half, including four from Tona, to make it a four-point deficit at the intermission (34-30).
Johnson & Wales opened the third quarter with an 11-4 run as Jaffrey began to take over with nine points during the stretch to give the visitors a 45-34 advantage with 3:51 to play in the period. Wheaton wouldn't back down, scoring the next five points to close the margin to 45-39 with 2:11 to go in the quarter. The Wildcats answered with seven straight points to take a 52-39 lead into the final quarter of play.
Tona later hit a free throw to keep the deficit at 57-43 with 7:47 left in the game for the Lyons, before Johnson & Wales ripped off nine unanswered points to effectively put the game out of reach at 66-43 with 5:25 remaining in the contest. Jaffrey led the blitz with seven points.
Wheaton never got closer than within 18 points the rest of the way and the Wildcats scored six of the final seven points to match their largest lead with a final score of 74-51.
The Lyons return to the court when they host Regis College (Mass.) on Tuesday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m., while Johnson & Wales plays again on December 4 when it travels to Salem, Mass. to take on Salem State University at 7:00 p.m.
