BOSTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by host Emerson College, 67-57, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Brown & Plofker Gym in Boston, Mass.

The Lyons fall to 7-16 overall and 3-6 in conference play, while the Lions improve to 16-7 and 7-2.

Wheaton shot just 35.4% (23-65) from the floor, but took advantage of 19 Emerson turnovers, while committing just 11 for a 19-5 points off turnover advantage. Despite the Lions owning a 45-33 rebound margin, the Lyons still managed a 13-7 second chance point difference, but its poor shooting from long range (2-20/10%) did not help their cause.

Junior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) finished a rebound shy of a double-double to lead Wheaton with 18 points and nine boards to go with three blocks and an assist, while sophomore guard Mary McClintock (Essex Junction, Vt.) netted 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out four assists and came up with a pair of steals. Senior guard Greta Minos (Boston, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, three assists, a rebound and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench. 

Sophomore guard Kendra Dodd (Tampa, Fla.) and first year guard Jessie Silk (Newton, Mass.) each scored 15 points for Emerson. Dodd added three rebounds and a trio of assists, while Silk added 11 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double to go with five assists. Sophomore guard Kaylin O'Meara (Littleton, Mass.) netted 12 points, pulled down seven boards and dished for four assists and sophomore forward Claire English (Winchester, Mass.) ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds in addition to two assists, a block and a steal.

Silk knocked down a jumper with 8:36 to go in the third quarter to give the Lions a 36-24 lead, before the Lyons roared back with a suffocating 16-4 stretch, led by six points from McClintock, to pull the visitors even at 40-40 with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Dodd canned a trifecta before the horn sounded to end the period and give Emerson a three-point lead heading into the final period of play.

Keyter converted a layup to cut the deficit to 48-46 with 6:36 showing on the fourth quarter clock for Wheaton and Minos hit a jumper to keep it a two-point game at 53-51 with 4:44 remaining in the game. It was as close as the Lyons would get for the rest of the contest. The Lions closed out the game on a 14-6 run, paced by five points from junior guard Sofia Canter (Los Angeles, Calif.), to come away with a 10-point win.

McClintock made a layup early in the opening quarter to knot the score at 4-4 for Wheaton, before Emerson ripped off eight straight points, including four from Silk, to take a 12-4 advantage with 6:13 to play in the quarter. The Lyons scored the next six points, including a layup from Minos to cut the margin to 12-10, but the Lions countered with seven unanswered points to increase their cushion to 19-10 and later took a 21-14 margin into the start of the second quarter.

The home team put together an 11-2 stretch to begin the period and take its largest lead of the contest at 32-16 with 2:45 to go in the first half. Senior forward Mireille Tona (Portland, Maine) made a layup and sophomore forward Cheynne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.) hit a jumper for Wheaton before the end of the stanza came with Emerson owning a 34-22 lead at the intermission.

The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, February 19 when they head to Cambridge, Mass. to take on league foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 8:00 p.m., while the Lions travel to Northampton, Mass. to play No. 6 Smith College in a NEWMAC contest on the same night at 7:00 p.m.