LEWISTON, Maine — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team couldn't overcome a big second half from host Bates College in a 70-45 defeat at Alumni Gym this evening in Lewiston, Maine.
The Lyons drop to 3-9 on the season, while the Bobcats improve to 8-3.
Bates shot 40% (26-65) from the floor, while holding Wheaton to just 22.1% (15-68), including 0-8 from three-point range.
The Bobcats led by just one point at halftime, but outscored the Lyons, 43-19, in the second half.
Senior guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) led Wheaton with 19 points, including 16 in the first half and grabbed 11 rebounds for her third career double-double to go with a steal. She now has 999 career points. Junior guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) netted 14 points, pulled down six rebounds, came up with three steals and blocked a shot.
Sophomore center Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) led all scorers with 21 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine in addition to handing out five assists and blocking four shots for Bates. Senior guard Alexandra Long (Newtown, Pa.) contributed with 14 points on 5-8 from the floor and was also 4-4 from the line to go with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a pair of blocks, while sophomore guard Sarah Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) chipped in with 10 points and three rebounds. Junior guard Sophie Spolter (Blacklick, Ohio) finished with eight points, 11 rebounds and an assist.
Junior forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) converted a layup just 48 seconds into the third quarter to pull the Lyons even at 28-28. It was all Bobcats for the rest of the way, outscoring their guests, 36-15, for the remainder of the game. The home team put together an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 39-30 advantage.
Wheaton ripped off five straight points, capped by a pair of Walters' free throws, to cut the deficit to 39-35 with 3:34 showing in the third quarter, before Bates scored the final eight points of the period to take a 47-35 margin into the final quarter of play. Junior guard Ava James (Bethesda, Md.) and Daulerio each scored four points to pace the Bobcats.
Walters completed a three-point play with a free throw to keep the Lyons within 53-40 with 7:10 to play in the game. Bates effectively put the game away with a 17-5 stretch to end the quarter, including nine points from Hughes.
The first half couldn't have been played much tighter between the two teams. Neither team led by more than two points through the first seven minutes with Wheaton owning an 11-10 edge following two free throws from sophomore guard Mary McClintock (Essex Junction, Vt.). Long sank a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats a 14-11 margin with 63 seconds left in the period and later held a 16-13 lead with 27 ticks left on the clock. Fernandes knocked down a jumper just before the horn sounded in the opening quarter to cut the difference to 16-15 for the Lyons.
Fernandes hit a jumper and McClintock made a layup to open the second quarter and give Wheaton a 19-16 lead with 8:10 to go in the opening half. The Lyons maintained a 21-18 margin at 7:43, before Bates asserted itself by scoring seven of the next eight points, including a triple from sophomore guard Mya Hicks (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to give the home team a 25-22 lead with 4:17 remaining in the quarter. Junior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) scored the final points of the half with a layup to pull Wheaton within 27-26 at the intermission.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, January 11 when they travel to Willimantic, Conn.) to take on Eastern Connecticut State University at 1:00 p.m., while the Bobcats host Babson College on January 7 at 5:00 p.m.
