Late Charge Leads Blue Basketball Over #22 Wheaton

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Late heroics from Wellesley's Morgyne Weaver lifted the Blue to a 62-59 victory over #22 Wheaton College in NEWMAC women's basketball action at Wellesley on Wednesday. The win gives Wellesley its ninth-straight win, lifting the team to 11-2 overall, 8-1 in the NEWMAC. Wheaton dips to 12-3, 7-3 in the conference.

With Wellesley trailing 59-58, Weaver nailed a running jumper with 6.7 seconds on the clock to give the Blue a one-point advantage. After a Wheaton turnover, Weaver calmly sunk a pair of free throws with four ticks on the clock and the Blue defense held on for the victory.

Wellesley had four players in double figures, led by Natalie Anderson who finished with a career-high 15 points and five boards. Weaver and Leslie Leong added 14 each and Katie Shulenberger chipped in with 10. Leong rounded out her stat line with a game-high seven rebounds, while adding four steals and three assists on the night.

Rebecca Arnone had a stellar night for the Lyons, hitting a school-record eight three-pointers, good for 24 points, to go along with four assists and four rebounds. Abbie Brickley tallied 18 points and eight boards for the guests, while Laura Pierce added eight points and four assists in the loss. Rounding out the Wheaton box score, Kiley Shoemaker added eight boards, four points and four blocks.

The squads traded buckets in the opening minutes of the game until Wellesley inched to an 11-8 lead on a three from Leong and an Anderson layup at the 13:35 mark. Both teams stalled in the middle of the period, but the momentum shifted to the Blue when an Ailis Hanley jumper gave the Blue a 19-16 buffer with 5:49 left. Anderson followed with a three and Leong added a short jumper a minute later for a 24-16 lead with 2:32 remaining.

Arnone stopped the bleeding for the Lyons with a three from the corner, but Wellesley responded with another Leong trey and a Shulenberger jumper for a 29-19 lead at the 1:32 mark. Wheaton then closed out the half with a jumper from Brickley and a three-pointer from Kenzie Kuhn to set the score at 29-24 at the break.

Arnone opened the second half with another three-pointer, but Wellesley kept the pressure on, rebuilding the lead to 34-29 at the 17:49 mark. Wheaton responded with a Shoemaker jumper and another Arnone trey to cut the lead to two. Wellesley answered with another surge, pushing its advantage to 42-36, but Arnone kept the Lyons close with back-to-back treys, trimming the Wellesley lead to 44-42 midway through the period.

Five minutes later, Arnone drained two more buckets from beyond the arc, giving the Lyons a 52-51 lead with 5:47 left. Two free throws from Chelsi Scott allowed Wellesley to regain the lead, but Brickley followed with a put-back for the Lyons for a one-point Wheaton edge. The teams traded free throws, then an Anderson trey gave the Blue a 58-56 lead with 1:20 left.

Twenty seconds later, Pierce nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give the visitors a one-point lead. Two possessions later, a Scott steal and Weaver's jumper put the Blue back on top, 60-59, with :06 remaining. After a Wheaton turnover, Weaver iced the game with two free throws for the 62-59 win.

Both teams will continue NEWMAC play on Saturday at 1:00pm. Wellesley will hit the road to play at Mount Holyoke, while Wheaton hosts Springfield.