Wellesley Basketball Falls to Wheaton, 63-54

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wheaton College used a 17-2 run over the final seven minutes of the game to upend Wellesley College in a Wednesday evening NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) women's basketball game at the Keohane Sports Center. The win lifts the Lyons to 13-9 overall with a 7-3 conference record. The Blue drop to 9-9, 3-7 in the NEWMAC.

A conventional three-point play from Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA) capped a fast start from the Lyons to give the visitors a 13-7 advantage after six minutes of play. However, Wellesley's Jessica Duff (Milton, Abingdon, UK) responded for the Blue, scoring seven straight points to put Wellesley ahead by one (14-7) with 12:27 to play in the first half.

After the teams traded buckets, Wheaton's Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH) sparked a 7-2 Lyon run that gave them a six-point lead at the 5:40 mark. The Blue cut the deficit to one-point with 3:38 to play, backed by matching steals and fast-break lay-ups from Katie Frett (Hallowell, ME) and Elisha Orama (Miramar, FL). 

With 1:07 to play in the half, Hickey sunk two free-throws to give the Lyons a six-point lead. However, Wellesley's Duff finished off a three-point play with :02 left in the period and cut the Wheaton lead to 31-28 at the break. Duff finished with 15 first-half points for the Blue, who shot 43% from the field, while Hickey tallied 11 points for the Lyons.

Wellesley needed just 1:40 in the second half to turn the three-point deficit into a 35-32 advantage. Once again though, Wheaton went back on top taking a 36-35 lead with 16:42 left in regulation. However, the Blue then went on an 11-4 run to open up the largest lead by either team in the contest, taking a 48-40 advantage with 11:07 to play. 

Six straight points from Wheaton's Bri Smith (Westford, MA) cut the Wellesley lead to 48-46 with 8:26 left but Julia Thomas (Concord, CA) responded for Wellesley with four points that brought the lead back up to 52-48 at the 7:34 mark.

From that point on, it was all Wheaton, as the Lyons scored 17 of the next 19 points of the game. The Lyons held Wellesley scoreless for nearly seven minutes during the final stretch while also hitting eight of ten free throws, to set the final to 63-54 in favor of Wheaton.

All five starters finished in double digits for Wheaton.  Smith led the group with 17 points while Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH) recorded 12.  Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA) had a great all-around game with 11 points, seven assists and five steals while Hickey tallied 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Rounding out the offense for the Lyons, Champney picked up 10 points while also adding six boards.

For Wellesley, Duff finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, moving her into sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list.  With 1,031 career points, Duff's next target is Sarah Bay '96 who notched 1,069 points from 1992-1996.

Also for the Blue, Thomas picked up 10 points and eight rebounds while Orama netted eight points and added five assists and Frett tallied seven points.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday. Wellesley will travel to MIT for a 2:00pm clash while Wheaton hosts WPI at 3:00pm.