WORCESTER, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was unable to overcome a big second quarter from host Clark University (Mass.) in a 75-52 defeat in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play this evening at Hurst Courts in Worcester, Mass.

The Lyons drop to 4-12 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the Cougars improve to 11-5 and 2-0.

Wheaton owned a 19-10 lead after one quarter of play, before Clark erupted for a 29-13 second quarter behind a 60% (12-20) shooting effort to take control of the contest. The Cougars held the Lyons to just 28.3% (17-60) from the floor for the game and took advantage of 19 Wheaton turnovers with a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Wheaton was led by junior forward Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.) with her first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and a steal, while first year forward Katelyn Cadmus (Pawcatuck, Conn.) chipped in with six points, eight rebounds and four assists. First year forward Darlene Tashobya (Kampala, Uganda) netted eight points, grabbed five rebounds, handed out an assist and came up with a pair of steals for the Lyons.

Sophomore guard Cyriah Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.) poured in a game-high 24 points on 10-15 from the field in addition to six boards, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocks for Clark. Junior guard Kailey Rios (Hesperia, Calif.) scored 19 points, including five three-pointers, and added nine rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.    

Wheaton took an early 8-4 lead behind five points from Colbert, before the Cougars scored the next five points, including a triple from Coleman to give the home team a 9-8 edge with 5:44 to play in the opening quarter. The Lyons closed out the period with a scorching 11-1 run, fueled by six points from Colbert, to take a 19-10 advantage into the second quarter. 

First year guard Sydney MacCalla (Middletown, N.Y.) converted a layup to maintain Wheaton's lead at 21-12 at the 8:55 mark of the second quarter. Clark put together a 14-5 stretch, led by six points from Rios, to pull the Cougars even at 26-26 with five minutes remaining in the half. The Lyons regained the lead following a pair of free throws from Cadmus to make it 31-29 with 3:02 showing on the second quarter clock, but it was the last lead of the evening for the visitors. Clark ripped off 10 unanswered points, including five from Coleman, before senior guard Kennis Jasperson (Sacramento, Calif.) sank one of two free throws for Wheaton to head into the locker rooms with the Cougars holding a 39-32 margin.

Clark continued its momentum into the third quarter, outscoring the Lyons, 20-9, to increase its cushion to 18 points. Tashobya drilled a three-pointer for Wheaton early in the period to cut the deficit to 43-37 for the Lyons, before the Cougars went on a 16-4 blitz to end the quarter, fueled by seven points from Coleman and six from Rios, to give the home team a 59-41 lead.

First year guard Atiya Watson (Los Angeles, Calif.) made a layup to bump Clark's lead to 63-43, before Wheaton scored the next four points, including a layup from senior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) to pull the Lyons within 63-47 with 6:39 remaining in the contest. Colbert later made a layup to keep Wheaton within the margin at 67-51 at the 4:22 mark. The Cougars scored eight of the night's final nine points to come away with a 75-52 decision.

The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, January 24 when they host NEWMAC rival Emerson College at 1:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, while Clark heads to South Hadley, Mass. to play Mount Holyoke College for a 1:00 p.m. league game on the same day.