WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team closed out the second quarter with an 18-5 run and sophomore forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) netted a game-high 13 points as part of a 56-44 victory over host Wellesley College this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse in Wellesley, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 10-12 overall and 2-6 in NEWMAC action, while the Blue fall to 8-12 and 1-7.
Wheaton dominated the glass by a count of 37-25 and owned a 14-0 disparity in second chance points. The Lyons shot 39.3% (22-56) from the floor, including just 21.4% (3-14) from three-point range, but held Wellesley to a paltry 28.6% (18-63) overall and 19.2% (5-26) from long range.
Arnold was 5-8 from the field and added five rebounds and a steal for Wheaton, while classmate Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, came up with a steal and rejected a shot. Junior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) led all playmakers with six assists and added eight points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Senior guard Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) led the Blue with 11 points in addition to an assist, a steal and a pair of rebounds and first year guard Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) chipped in with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four thefts and a blocked shot. First year guard Mirella Funari (Phoenix, Ariz.) also registered 10 points to go with three rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block, while junior forward Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Funari knocked down a jumper in the paint to pull Wellesley even at 14-14 with 8:08 showing in the second quarter, but the Lyons closed out the quarter with a dominant 18-5 run, fueled by nine points from Arnold, to give the visitors a 32-19 halftime advantage.
The Blue almost erased the deficit with nine unanswered points to open the third quarter, including seven from Barrow, to cut the margin to 32-28 with 5:49 to play in the period. Wheaton countered with eight straight points, capped by a jumper from sophomore guard Madeline Duwe (Greenville, S.C.) to give the Lyons a 40-28 cushion with 2:05 left in the quarter. Wellesley pulled within 10 with the final two points of the quarter.
Keyter converted a layup at the 4:18 mark of the fourth quarter to give Wheaton its largest lead of the night at 48-34. The Blue got the margin under double-digits with five unanswered points, including four from Chae, to make it 48-39 with 2:32 to play in the game. Chae drilled a three-pointer with 46 seconds left to keep it a single-digit deficit at 53-44, but the Lyons scored the final three points of the game.
Wellesley jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the opening quarter after a three-ball from Chae. Sophomore guard Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) drained a pair of threes to spark a 10-3 stretch to close out the quarter and give Wheaton a 12-10 lead.
The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, February 10 when they honor their seniors at 1:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium vs. league rival Emerson College, while the Blue return on the same day and time with a contest in South Hadley, Mass. at Mount Holyoke College.
