Wellesley Hoops Stopped 58-29 by Wheaton

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Senior Valentina Morakis (Long Island, N.Y.) scored a team-high nine points in a 58-29 loss to Wheaton College on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue fall to 3-14 overall and 1-6 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. Wheaton improves to 7-13 overall and 2-7 in the conference.

Morakis added six rebounds to her nine points on senior day. First year Allison Koziarz (New Rochelle, N.Y.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight total points. Classmate Sairah O'Brien-Forde (Binghamton, N.Y.) added four points and five boards for the Blue.

Both Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) and Greta Minos (West Roxbury, Mass.) scored a game-high 11 points for the Lyons. Senior Sadie Shore (Portsmouth, N.H.) was in double-figures with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. First year forward Tianna Rogers (Danbury, Conn.) added nine points and four rebounds off the bench.

Wheaton would open up the game with a 4-0 lead until O'Brien Forde put Wellesley on the board with a jump shot and assist by Taylor Hirn (Hermosa Beach, Calif.). The Lyons scored the next nine points and extended its lead to 13-2 with 2:10 to play in the first. A late Minos three-pointer gave Wheaton a 12 point advantage after the first quarter. The Blue continued to struggle offensively, falling down 25-4 off a pair of Alexis Romer (Delray Beach, Fla) free throws. Morakis would score four consecutive points and cut the Lyon lead to just 27-13 with 1:26 to go in the half. The Blue would trail by 16 heading into halftime.

Koziarz came out of the locker room firing, knocking down three-pointers on consecutive possessions. Morakis then followed with a layup to make the score 31-21 at the 6:23 mark in the third quarter. Wheaton then used an 8-0 run to recapture a commanding lead capped off by a Minos layup. The Lyons ended the third with an and one made by Riley Sprague (Jamestown, R.I.) and lead 44-25. Wheaton remained hot to start the fourth, scoring the first eight points including a three-pointer from Romer. The Lyon run was ended by Anna Greenthal (Orinda, Calif.) who knocked down a jumper at the 5:03 mark. The lead proved to be too much and Wheaton hung on to the 58-29 victory.

The Blue shot 11-of-46 as a team (23.9%) and went 2-of-3 from downtown. The Lyons dominated the paint by outrebounding Wellesley 39-24 and scoring 34 points inside the paint.

Wellesley remains at home to host Clark on Wednesday, February 16 with tip-off at 7:00 PM. Wheaton will play a non-conference game versus Fisher on Monday, February 14 at 7:00 PM.