Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (15-5, 6-3) Completes Home Slate with 1-1 Week, Upends Babson

The Wheaton College men's basketball team wrapped up its regular season home slate last week, as the Lyons stormed back from a 15-point second-half deficit to defeat Babson College, 78-72 in Tuesday's critical New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest before suffering a hard-fought 79-76 overtime conference setback to Springfield College on Saturday.

Against Babson, the Beaver offense dashed out to a quick five-point lead to start the game, but thanks to the shooting of sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) the Lyons were able to knot the score at 10-10. Babson began to pull ahead slowly, but a spurt of two Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) baskets and a Zukowski steal and bucket brought the score to 24-23 with 8:55 to play. The highlight of the first half, however, was the Beavers impressive shooting, as the team finished the stanza 18-of-24 (.750) from the field. Trailing 44-32 with 1:16 on the clock, senior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) ended the half with four quick points to narrow the hosts' deficit to eight heading into the locker room. In the second half, Babson led 47-39 and then used a 7-0 spurt that gave the Beavers their biggest lead of the game with 17:02 to play. Wheaton trailed 70-58 with 7:16 remaining, but the Lyons rattled off twelve straight points to knot the score at 70-70. The hosts eventually took their first lead of the game at the 2:18 mark. Babson was unable to convert anything offensively down the stretch, as the Wheaton defense forced the Beavers to miss six straight shots. Zukowski led all scorers with a career-high 29 points, while Vega totaled a season-high 23 points. Kelly rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14 points, nine assists and a career-high tying six steals.

Versus Springfield, the Lyons tied the game at 10-10 on a Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) three-pointer and eventually captured their first lead of the game on a Stanton jumper with 11:28 to go. Facing their biggest deficit of the period at 32-27, Vega scored seven points including a three at the 3:01 mark to give the hosts a 36-34 edge. After a Kelly four-point play, the Pride hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to make the halftime score 40-38 in favor of Wheaton. Springfield took a 53-47 advantage in the opening minutes of the second stanza, but Vega was able to keep the game close with 13 points over a five-minute span, as the Lyons eventually regained the lead at 59-57 with 11:38 remaining. The teams swapped leads twice more, but in the end the score was tied at 72 apiece which forced the five-minute overtime. Vega hit two free throws to give the Lyons a 76-75 edge in the extra session, but two straight Wheaton fouls sent Springfield to the free throw line. Down by three with 10 ticks on the clock, Stanton launched a three-point shot that bounced off the rim as time expired to give the Pride the overtime victory. Vega posted a season-high 29 points and game-high four steals, while Zukowski and Kelly netted 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Women's Basketball (9-12, 4-5) Wins Two of Three with Victories over Newbury and WPI

The Wheaton College women's basketball team collected two victories in a three-game week, as the Lyons finished strong with wins over Newbury College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Wheaton began the week with a 70-62 setback at Clark University in a NEWMAC game on Tuesday, but the Lyons bounced back to down host Newbury, 58-39 in Thursday's non-league contest and then WPI, 65-60 in Saturday's crucial conference game in Emerson Gymnasium.

At Clark, sophomore Samara Audet (Derry, NH/Trinity) paced the Lyons early on, scoring five of the squad's first 10 points as the Blue and White held an early 10-6 advantage with 17:38 remaining in the half. The Cougars bounced back to take an 11-10 edge before enduring a stretch of three ties and six lead changes that lasted the majority of the stanza. Clark eventually took a decisive lead as the period came to a close, using an 8-2 run to take a 38-30 lead into the locker room. The Cougars stretched their lead to 10 points early in the second half, but a Kate Williams (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel) jumper followed by a pair of free throws from sophomore Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) cut Wheaton's deficit to 42-36 with 14:34 on the clock. Clark immediately retaliated with three consecutive baskets to reopen its lead back to 12, but the Lyons fought back and brought their deficit to within five with 8:58 left. That was as close as Wheaton would get the rest of the way, however, as the Cougars held at least a six-point lead for the remainder of the contest. Williams led the way with a season-high tying 18 points and team-high tying eight boards, while senior Mary Flaherty (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester) added 14 points.

At Newbury, the Blue and White used a strong first-half shooting performance to build a comfortable 31-17 lead heading into the intermission, as the Lyons converted 13-of-24 (.542) from the field and 2-of-3 (.667) from behind the three-point arc. Wheaton's defensive efforts limited Newbury to more free throws than field goals, as the Nighthawks made only 5-of-20 (.250) from the floor while going 6-of-9 (.667) from the charity stripe. The Lyons' offense cooled down in the second half, but the defense continued to set the pace, holding the Nighthawks to a 7-of-32 (.219) clip in the stanza. Wheaton also capitalized on its 15 free throw attempts in the second frame, knocking down 10 freebies to keep Newbury at bay down the stretch. Williams racked up a game high-tying 15 points, while senior Vanessa Savas (Belmont, MA/Belmont) and freshman Courtney Riley (Quincy, MA/Fontbonne Academy) contributed nine points apiece.

Versus WPI, the Engineers rattled off seven unanswered points to grab a 10-3 lead with 15:23 to play, but Wheaton answered right back with seven points of its own to knot the contest at 10-10. The teams stayed tight the rest of the period, with the biggest lead being the seven-point WPI advantage in the beginning of the game. The Engineers led 26-22 in the final two minutes of the half, but seniors Jessica Pine (Pottstown, PA/The Hill School) and Savas knocked down a three and jumper, respectively to give Wheaton the slim lead. After the two teams traded baskets, WPI hit a free throw to knot the score at 29-29 at the half. In the second frame, the Lyons began to create some separation and led by seven points on three different occasions, with the latter being 48-41 with 7:32 on the clock. The Engineers crept back into the game and eventually narrowed their deficit to one with 49 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Pine fed Riley under the basket for a lay up that would prove to be the game winner, as WPI was forced to foul in the closing seconds. Riley recorded a double-double performance with a season-high 17 points, a game-best 11 boards and four blocked shots. McCormack accounted for 14 points and seven boards, while Audet added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Men's (8-4) and Women's (10-4) Swimming Finishes Regular Season at MIT Invitational

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams finished their regular season schedules at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Invitational Saturday afternoon.

The squads captured a combined four individual-event victories, led by sophomore co-captain Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) with two top finishes. Roberts notched his first victory of the day in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.81 and later followed that performance with a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 48.14. Freshman Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) turned in a runner-up finish in the 100-yard backstroke in 54.27.

Freshman Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) led the women with the top time in the 50-yard freestyle at 25.25 while also capturing a pair of second-place marks in the 100-yard freestyle in 55.35 and 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.69. Senior Amanda Berthelette (Milford, NH/Milford) edged Pratt in the 100-yard back with the winning time of 1:02.60, while freshman Meg Miller's (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) second-place finish in the 50-yard free rounded out Wheaton's top individual efforts. Miller and Pratt also teamed up with senior co-captain Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and junior Courtney Catalano (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) to notch a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:42.06, a new school record.

Men's and Women's Track and Field Takes Part in Prestigious Armory Invitational

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams recorded several strong marks at this weekend's prestigious Armory Collegiate Invitational, as the Lyons continued their successful seasons at the New Balance Track & Field Center in New York City. Between the men's and women's teams at the NCAA Division-I dominated non-scoring meet, the Lyons boasted five Division III national meet provisional qualifying performances.

Junior Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) led the women's team in the championship pole vault event, as she was the only Division III entrant in the field. Battista cleared a Division III provisional qualifying mark and season-best 11' 9 3/4". Also in the field, sophomore Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) tied for sixth in the high jump with a provisional mark of 5' 5", while senior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) and freshman Marie Swieta (West Monroe, NY/Altmar-Parish-Williamstown) jumped 5' 3" and 5' 1", respectively.

Wallace also anchored the provisionally-qualifying 4x400-meter relay team, joining senior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) and first-year athletes Julie McLane (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) and Chelsea Nader (Ardmore, PA/Lower Menan) with a time of 3:58.94. Rounding out the women's provisional qualifiers was freshman All-America distance runner Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro), who took fifth in her heat in the mile run with a time of 5:05.10. Senior Lindsay Whalen (Dedham, MA/Dedham) was also impressive in the event, posting a personal-best time of 5:20.39. Whalen also nearly broke a seven-year school record in the 1,000-meter run in 3:05.82.

For the men, junior Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) earned a spot on the national qualifying list in the 400-meter dash with a provisional time of 49.32. Sisodia placed third in his heat, while junior Ross Kahill (South Portland, ME/South Portland) and senior Patrick Freytag (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) took eighth and 11th, respectively in the 800M run. Freshman Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) finished 10th in his 3,000M run heat with a time of 8:58.35.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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