NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by visiting Babson College, 63-55, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 9-12 overall and 1-6 in NEWMAC play, while the Beavers win their fifth straight game and improve to 11-10 and 5-2.
Babson outscored Wheaton, 22-10, in the third quarter to spell the difference in the game. The Beavers shot 36.4% (20-55), but converted on their second chances, outscoring the home team, 10-3, in second chance points. The Lyons posted a 32.7% (18-55) field goal mark and were outscored, 17-8, in points off turnovers.
Senior forward Maddie Mueller (Carver, Mass.) came off the bench to net a career-high 17 points on 5-9 shooting and 6-7 from the line to go with three rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes to lead Wheaton. First year guard Aniyah Boston (Linden, N.J.) scored nine points, pulled down six rebounds and came up with three steals, while sophomore guard Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) also scored nine points and added an assist.
Junior forward Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) scored a career-high 19 points to lead Babson and was 6-10 from the floor to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal, while first year guard Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, Mass.) contributed with 10 points, six rebounds, four steals and an assist. Junior guard Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, two boards, three assists and a steal.
The Beavers never trailed in the game and owned a 13-7 lead following a jumper at the 3:31 mark of the opening quarter from sophomore forward Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.). The Lyons scored five of the final seven points of the quarter, capped by a jumper from Boston, to cut the deficit to 15-12 after one quarter of play.
Silk grabbed an offensive board and converted the put-back layup to give Babson a 17-12 advantage with 8:27 to play in the second quarter. Wheaton chipped away over the next five and half minutes with a 9-4 stretch, paced by five points from Boston and four from Mueller, to pull the Lyons even at 21-21 with 2:56 showing on the second quarter clock. The Beavers ripped off six straight points, including a three-ball from Perrault to give the visitors a 27-21 lead with 63 seconds left in the opening half. Sophomore forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) made one of two free throws for the final point of the session to cut the margin to 27-22 for Wheaton before the intermission.
Babson hit its first three shots and added a free throw within the opening two minutes of the third quarter to take a 34-22 cushion with 8:19 remaining in the period. The Lyons scored the next four points, before the Beavers went on a 9-2 burst, including four points from Silk, to increase their advantage to 43-28 with 3:48 to play in the quarter. Silk gave Babson its largest lead of the afternoon, making the first end of two free throws to give the visitors a 49-32 lead with 32 ticks left in the period.
Mollica converted a driving layup to maintain a 55-39 margin for the Beavers with 5:59 to go in the fourth quarter of play. Wheaton came alive and put together an 11-4 stretch, paced by four points from Mueller, to cut the deficit to 59-50 with 33 seconds left in the game. Jasperson knocked down a trifecta for the final points of the game to bring the Lyons within 63-55 before the final horn sounded.
Both teams return to the court on Wednesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. Babson heads to Cambridge, Mass. to take on league foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Wheaton travels to Wellesley, Mass. to play conference rival Wellesley College.
