Wheaton breaks even as Salve Regina forwards lead hosts to 66-56 win

December 1, 2007

NEWPORT, RI- The Wheaton College women's basketball team had a tough time with host Salve Regina University's frontcourt Saturday afternoon, as the Lyons fell to 2-2 with their 66-56 non-conference loss in Rodgers Recreation Center. The Seahawks won their second straight game to improve to 4-1 on the year.

Despite six ties and four lead changes through the opening 15-plus minutes of the first half, Salve closed out the stanza on a 16-6 run and didn't look back, as seniors Allison Moen (Yonkers, NY/Maria Regina) and Kristen Stone (West Roxbury, MA/Boston Latin School) turned in huge games from their frontcourt positions. Moen finished with 22 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks, while Stone shot 10-of-15 for 20 points with 13 boards and six rejections.

The game proved to be a back-and-forth affair in the early going, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead through the first 16:07 of play. An 8-0 Salve run during a 1:30 span put the hosts in front by a 25-18 tally at 3:12, as Moen scored the final four points of the spurt. The Seahawks' lead grew to 10 before they took a 33-24 advantage into the break. The Lyons were limited to 33.3 percent shooting while missing all five three-point attempts and being held to zero foul shots.

Salve's lead hovered around 10 in the early minutes of the second half, but a 7-0 run by junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) helped Wheaton narrow its deficit to 43-38 with 14:30 remaining. That margin proved to be as close as the Lyons would get, as a 7-1 Seahawk spurt made the differential 11 and Wheaton never got closer than nine.

The Blue and White held a huge turnover edge, only committing eight to Salve's 21, but the Lyons were outrebounded by a 53-30 advantage. Wheaton finished shooting at just a 35.3 percent clip, while the Seahawks were steady at 45.6 percent. Second-chance points got the best of Wheaton, as Salve scored 20 of the 25 such points, including a 15-3 edge in the latter half.

Hickey led the Lyons with 14 points by shooting 6-of-10 from the floor, while junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) added 10 points. Sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) contributed nine points, senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) had eight markers and sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) turned in game highs of seven assists and three steals to go with a team-best seven rebounds and six points.

The Lyons return home on Tuesday to play in the back end of a doubleheader against non-league foe Plymouth State University. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.

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