NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team fell short in the fourth quarter of a 48-43 loss to visiting Roger Williams University this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 1-2 on the season, while the Hawks even their record at 1-1.
Neither team shot well in the game with Roger Williams hitting just 31.1% of its shots at 19-61, including 2-14 (14.3%) from three-point range and Wheaton owning a 35.8% (19-53) mark. The Hawks helped mitigate their misses with 18 offensive rebounds and held a 41-38 margin on the glass for the game in total rebounds. The Lyons turned the ball over 19 times, leading to a 16-6 scoring in points off turnovers for Roger Williams, which spelled the difference in the game.
Senior forward Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.) led all scorers with 14 points for Wheaton and was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine caroms in addition to handing out four assists, making two steals and blocking a pair of shots. Sophomore guard Sydney MacCalla (Middletown, N.Y.) contributed with seven points on 3-6 from the floor to go with three rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Senior forward Lilli Clark (Willimantic, Conn.) posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hawks. She also added an assist to her night, while junior forward Ava Azzaro (Northampton, Mass.) netted 10 points on 5-8 shooting to go with four rebounds. Senior forward Meg Qualey (Woburn, Mass.) chipped in with seven points, seven rebounds a steal and a blocked shot.
Roger Williams never trailed in the game, ripping off nine straight points to open the first quarter as part of an 11-2 opening stretch capped by a fast break jumper from sophomore guard Meghan Husson (Windham, N.H.) with 4:51 to play in the quarter. First year forward Rayna Horton (Worcester, Mass.) knocked down a jumper outside the paint to cut the deficit to 13-6 for the home team, before the Hawks closed the quarter with four unanswered points to take their largest lead of the night at 17-6.
Clark canned a trifecta midway through the second period to maintain a 20-11 advantage for Roger Williams with 5:38 showing on the second quarter clock, but the Lyons started to chip away. Colbert and Horton capped an 8-2 burst for Wheaton with back-to-back three-balls to pull the Lyons within 22-19 with 2:21 to go in the opening half. Colbert drilled another three late in the quarter to keep it a four-point game, before Azzaro made a layup with five ticks left in the quarter to give the Hawks a 28-22 margin before the intermission.
Wheaton went on a fiery 7-1 run to open the third quarter, led by five points from MacCalla, to knot the game at 29-29 with 6:40 left in the quarter. It was the closest the Lyons would get for the rest of the night as Roger Williams put together an 11-4 stretch, capped by a driving layup from junior guard Sakoya Sweeney (Craftsbury, Vt.), to take a 40-33 lead into the final period.
The Hawks held a 42-37 margin after a layup from Azzaro at the 7:34 mark, before Wheaton put its guests on their heels. Colbert drained a jumper with 5:40 to play in the game to bring Wheaton within a point at 42-41, but Roger Williams held the home team off for the remainder of the contest. The Lyons missed their next five field goal attempts and were held scoreless for the next 4:15, until a Colbert jumper broke the drought with 25 seconds left, but the Hawks still held onto a 47-43 lead, before a free throw from senior guard Chloe Richardson (Norwell, Mass.) sealed the victory for the visitors.
Wheaton returns to the court when it hosts Mount St. Mary College (N.Y.) on Friday, November 13 at 6:00 p.m., while Roger Williams plays on November 14 when it travels to Williamstown, Mass. to take on Williams College at 6:00 p.m. in the first round of the Morin Memorial Tournament.
