CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team fell to Pomona-Pitzer, 68-57, today at Voelkel Gymnasium in Claremont, Calif.
The Lyons slip to 3-8 on the season, while the Sagehens improve to 7-3.
Wheaton edged Pomona-Pitzer in the fourth quarter and matched its host in the opening period, but the Sagehens took control of the contest in the middle quarters. The Lyons dominated the boards by a count of 43-30 to fuel a 17-5 difference in second chance points, but it was Pomona-Pitzer's shooting prowess that backed its victory. The home team shot 44.2% (23-52) from the floor, while holding Wheaton to 35.9% (23-64), including 18.2% (2-11) from three-point territory.
Junior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) posted a monster double-double with career-highs of 20 points and 19 boards to lead the Lyons. Her rebounding effort produced the sixth-highest carom total in school history for a single game and is the most since Kiely Shoemaker '16 ripped down a school-record mark of 24 on November 18, 2015 against Newbury College. Keyter was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line and added two assists and a blocked shot. Senior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) netted 14 points on 7-14 from the field to go with six rebounds, three assists and a steal, while sophomore guard Mary McClintock (Essex Junction, Vt.) came off the bench to chip in with a career-high 10 points on 5-8 shooting and added two rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist.
First year guard Sara Chicco (Fort Collins, Colo.) and junior guard Emily Lee (San Jose, Calif.) each poured in 20 points to lead the Sagehens. Chicco drained five three-pointers in addition to pulling down three rebounds, coming up with two steals and handing out an assist, while Lee was 8-9 from the free throw line, grabbed four boards, collected two steals and dished for an assist. Sophomore guard Abigail Homan (Naperville, Ill.) contributed with 12 points on 6-10 from the field, came down with five rebounds and pocketed a pair of steals.
Wheaton jumped out to an early 6-2 lead with 8:26 showing in the opening quarter, paced by four points from sophomore forward Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.). Lee pulled Pomona-Pitzer even at the 6:18 mark with a three-pointer, before the Lyons ripped off six straight points, including four from Keyter, to take a 12-6 margin with 1:54 to go in the period. The Sagehens closed the quarter with six unanswered points, including a triple from junior guard Kellie Au (Palos Verdes, Calif.) just before the period expired to tie the game at 12-12.
Pomona-Pitzer continued its momentum into the second quarter, scoring the first eight points of the period as part of an 11-2 run to give it a 23-14 lead with 6:37 to play in the period. Chicco led the attack with six points. Wheaton cut the deficit to a possession with an 8-2 burst, including four points from Fernandes, to make it 25-22 with 3:27 left in the first half. The Sagehens scored four of the next six points to end the half and take a 29-24 advantage into the intermission.
Keyter converted a pair of free throws early in the third quarter to pull the Lyons within 32-26 with 8:20 showing on the third quarter clock. Pomona-Pitzer started to put some distance between itself and Wheaton, scoring the next eight points to fuel a 13-2 blitz, including six more points from Chicco, to increase the Sagehens' cushion to 45-28 with 4:24 to play in the quarter. Sophomore guard Jadyn Lee (Palos Verdes, Calif.) stuck a pull-up jumper to give Pomona-Pitzer its biggest lead of the day at 51-33 with 76 seconds left in the third quarter. The Lyons showed some fight, ripping off the final five points of the period, including a driving layup from Fernandes to cut the margin to 51-38 with 32 ticks left in the quarter.
Keyter scored on a layup to make it 51-40 for Wheaton, but the Sagehens scored the next seven points to match their biggest advantage at 58-40 with 8:42 remaining in the contest. Pomona-Pitzer later maintained a 59-42 lead at the 7:57 mark, but the Lyons put together an 11-2 stretch, including seven unanswered points and four from McClintock, to slice the deficit to 61-53 with 5:17 to play in the game. It was as close as the visitors would get for the rest of the afternoon. The Sagehens led by as many as 13 points for the rest of the game and scored the next five points to take a 66-53 margin with 4:38 left in the contest.
Wheaton returns to action on Sunday, January 5 when it heads to Lewiston, Maine to take on Bates College for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off in its first game of the New Year, while Pomona-Pitzer hosts University of Chicago on January 2 at 4:00 p.m. EST.
