NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team was defeated by No. 6 Smith College, 87-55, this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons slip to 5-15 overall and 1-5 in league play, while the Bears, who are ranked in the most recent WBCA national poll, win their fifth in a row to improve to 19-1 and a perfect 6-0. 

Wheaton held Smith to just 35.4 (11-31) shooting in the opening half, including 2-11 (18.1%) from three-point range, before the visitors caught fire in the second half, shooting 63.3% (19-30) and outscoring their hosts, 52-30. The Bears dominated the glass with a 49-30 rebounding advantage. The Lyons committed 20 turnovers, including 14 in the first half, but Smith was guilty of 17 miscues. 

Junior forward Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, N.H.) led all players with 14 points and added four rebounds, four assists and a steal for Wheaton. Senior forward Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) netted 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, came up with three steals, dished out an assist and blocked a game-high four shots. Sophomore guard Daniella MacDonald (Newtown, Pa.) knocked down a trio of threes for nine points in addition to an assist, a steal and a block to contribute to a season-high of seven rejections for the Lyons. 

Junior guard Uta Nakamura (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Bears with 13 points on 4-7 shooting to go with three rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes off the bench, while sophomore forward Mya Williams (Temple City, Calif.) finished a rebound short of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards in addition to a pair of blocks and an assist. Junior guard Virginia Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn.) contributed with nine points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists in 21 minutes of action. 

First year guard Sydney MacCalla (Middletown, N.Y.) hit a jumper from outside the paint to give Wheaton its largest lead of the game at 5-2, with 7:28 to go in the opening quarter. The Lyons held the lead through the first 3:21 of the game, but Smith ripped off 13 unanswered points and never looked back. Junior guard Hannah Martin (North Andover, Mass.) scored five points to pace the run that gave the visitors a 15-5 advantage with 2:31 remaining in the quarter. MacDonald buried a three-ball to keep the Lyons within 18-13 with 41 ticks left on the clock, before Johnson scored on a layup to give the Bears a 20-13 margin after one quarter of play.

Keyter scored five of the game's next six points to cut the deficit to 21-18 for Wheaton with 8:41 showing on the second quarter clock. Junior guard Mary McClintock (Essex Junction, Vt.) made a layup to keep it a three-point game at 23-20 for the Lyons, before the home team got the ball back and looked to pull even, but MacDonald's trifecta bid rimmed out at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter. Smith ripped off nine straight points, including five from Johnson, to increase its lead to 32-20 with 1:47 left in the first half. Wheaton looked to go into the intermission down by seven after scoring the next five points, including a fast break layup from Colbert to make it a 32-25 difference with 12 seconds left. Nakamura was fouled at the buzzer from beyond the three-point stripe and converted all of her free throws to give the Bears a 35-25 cushion at the break.

The Lyons stayed within the margin at 41-30 after Colbert stuck a mid-range jumper at the 5:59 mark of the third quarter. Smith began to put distance between itself and Wheaton with a 19-5 stretch, fueled by seven points from junior guard Maggie Fleming (Downers Grove, Ill.), to take a 60-35 lead with just 35 seconds left in the period. The teams traded a point each before the Bears took a 61-36 count into the final quarter of play.

Smith opened the fourth period with a 12-4 run, capped by a triple from sophomore guard Jillian Nowicki (San Diego, Calif.) to give the Bears a 73-40 margin with 5:35 remaining in the contest. Sophomore guard Shea Montague (Amesbury, Mass.) drained a three with 1:41 left in the game to match Smith's largest lead of the night at 85-51.

Wheaton returns to the court on Saturday, February 7 when it heads to Springfield, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Springfield College for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Bears return to action on the same day when they host league rival Clark University at 2:00 p.m.