PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team pulled even with host Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) in the fourth quarter, but was unable to keep the Wildcats from pulling away for a 62-51 victory this evening at the Wildcat Center in Providence, R.I.
The Lyons slip to 2-4 on the season, while Johnson & Wales improves to 4-2.
Both teams struggled from the field with JWU shooting 31.9% (22-69), including 23.3% (7-30) from three-point range and Wheaton owning a 29% (18-62) mark, including 23.8% (5-21) from long range. The Wildcats held a 54-43 advantage on the glass.
Senior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) led all scorers with 21 points for the Lyons and added 12 rebounds for a double-double and her third double-digit rebounding effort of the year. She also dished out an assist, made a steal and blocked a shot. Senior guard Kiki Walters (Fleetwood, Pa.) netted 15 points, grabbed seven boards and picked up a pair of steals and classmate Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting to go with two rebounds and a pair of assists.
Johnson & Wales was led by first year guard Tahlia Peña (Nashua, N.H.) with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while sophomore forward Brianne Foley (New Rochelle, N.Y.) scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, doled out three assists, picked up a steal and blocked a shot. Sophomore forward Grace Jaffray (Blue Hill, Maine) was held to 11 points in addition to five rebounds, a pair of steals and a block.
Keyter buried her second triple of the game to pull Wheaton equal at 46-46 with 5:49 remaining in the contest, but the Wildcats closed out the night with a 16-5 run, fueled by seven points from Peña, to secure the victory for the home team.
The Lyons overcame an early three-point deficit with five unanswered points, capped by a Jasperson three-pointer to give the visitors a 7-5 margin at the 7:49 mark of the opening quarter. Junior guard Mary Claire McClintock (Essex Junction, Vt.) knocked down a pull-up jumper to restore the lead for Wheaton at 9-8 with 6:28 left in the first quarter. Johnson & Wales put together a 12-2 stretch, led by five points from Foley, to close out the quarter with a 20-11 advantage.
Early in the second quarter, Keyter drained a turn-around jumper with 6:53 showing to cut the margin to 24-16 for the Lyons. The Wildcats ripped off eight straight points over the next two minutes, including three-pointers from Peña and sophomore guard Isabella Suero (Newburgh, N.Y.), to increase their advantage to 32-16 for their largest lead of the evening. Foley ended the half with a driving layup to give JWU a 34-20 halftime lead.
Wheaton began to chip away at the difference with six unanswered points to begin the third quarter, paced by four from Keyter, to cut the margin to 34-26. Foley later converted a driving layup to bump the Wildcats' cushion to 44-31 at the five-minute mark of the period. Walters fueled a 10-0 Lyon blitz with five points to pull Wheaton within 44-41 before the end of the third quarter.
The Lyons return to the court on Sunday, November 30 when they travel to New London, Conn. to take on Connecticut College for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off, while Johnson & Wales hosts Roger Williams University on December 2 at 5:30 p.m.
