NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) staged a late fourth-quarter comeback, but fell short in a 70-58 decision to visiting Emerson College this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 10-13 overall and 2-7 in league play, while the Lions improve to 13-10 and 4-5.
Wheaton honored its two seniors prior to the game, paying tribute to Maddie Mueller (Carver, Mass.) and Emma Kiernan (Wayland, Mass.).
Emerson took advantage of 23 Wheaton turnovers, outscoring the home squad, 19-5, in points off turnovers. The Lions shot 40.6% (28-69) from the field, despite knocking down just 21.1% (4-19) of their three-point tries. The Lyons posted a 37.9% (22-58) mark and fared much better from long range at 50% (5-10).
Mueller scored a team-high 14 points on 4-8 shooting and 5-5 from the free throw line to give her double-digit scoring numbers in three of her last four games and added a rebound, a steal and a career-high five assists. Sophomore forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) also scored 14 points for Wheaton in addition to pulling down six boards and handing out three assists.
Sophomore guard Bri Frongillo (Hopedale, Mass.) scored a game-high 26 points to lead Emerson. She was 10-20 from the floor, including 2-3 from three-point territory and added four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Senior Charlotte Levison (Atherton, Calif.) posted a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to go with a pair of steals, an assist and a block. First year Kaylin O'Meara (Littleton, Mass.) came off the bench to net 10 points and grab three rebounds in 12 minutes for the visitors.
Mueller buried a three-pointer with just 15 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Lyons their largest lead of the game at 20-14. Levison hit a jumper to end the quarter to cut the deficit to four for the Lions.
First year guard Tatum Young (Forsyth, Ill.) canned a three-ball with 6:36 left in the second quarter to grab the lead back for Wheaton at 28-26, but it proved to be the last time that the Lyons were ahead on the scoreboard for the remainder of the afternoon. Emerson put together an 11-3 stretch, fueled by eight points from Frongillo, to give the Lions a 37-31 margin with 70 seconds left in the half. Emerson maintained its half-dozen point lead heading into the break at 39-33.
Kiernan cut the deficit to 41-37 with a layup at the 8:50 mark of the third quarter, before six unanswered points, capped by a layup from senior Ella Bushee (Walpole, N.H.) following a turnover, gave the Lions a 47-37 cushion with 5:35 to play in the quarter. Sophomore guard Madeline Duwe (Greenville, S.C.) pulled Wheaton within 47-41 with a floating jumper and kept the deficit at six (49-43) with a driving layup with 1:08 to go in the quarter. Emerson scored the final five points of the quarter to give the visitors a 54-43 advantage after three quarters of play.
Frongillo drilled a jumper outside the paint to provide the Lions with their largest lead of the day at 56-43 with 9:10 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Levison kept the lead at 13 with a layup at the six-minute mark to make it 62-49. Emerson looked to be in control, but the Lyons made one last push with eight straight points, including four from Mueller, to cut the margin to a manageable 62-57 with 2:50 remaining in the contest.
The Lions dashed the home team's hopes for a comeback, scoring eight of the final nine points of the game to secure a 70-58 victory.
Wheaton jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the first quarter, before an 11-4 stretch, paced by four points each from Levison and Bushee, gave Emerson a 12-8 lead at 3:52 of the opening period. The Lyons roared back with a 12-2 run, capped by the Mueller triple to give them their biggest lead.
Wheaton returns to Emerson Gym with its final regular-season home contest vs. NEWMAC rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday, February 14 at 6:00 p.m., while the Lions host Smith College on the same night at 7:00 p.m.
