Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--A furious comeback fell just short as visiting Wheaton College (Mass.) came away with a 72-69 win over Smith College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday night. The Lyons remain undefeated at 5-0, with a 3-0 mark in NEWMAC play, while Smith falls to 1-3, and 1-2 within the NEWMAC.
Smith was led by 17 points each from
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) and
Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill). Solis pulled down nine rebounds, while
Jazmine Collins (Springfield, Mass./Sabis) tacked on 11 points with nine caroms.
Kiley Shoemaker and Rebecca Arnone both had double-doubles to lead the Lyons. Shoemaker had 12 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocked shots, while Arnone had 10 points and 11 boards. Laura Pierce and Abbie Brickley also hit double-figures with 11 points apiece for Wheaton.
Wheaton led by as many as 10 on Kenzie Kuhn's three pointer early in the second half, but Smith trimmed the gap to four on
Jade Chihara (Laihana, Hawaii/Laihanaluna)'s free throws with 5:23 remaining. Two foul shots from Pierce and another Arnone pushed the Lyons' lead back to 62-57, but
Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) found
Mandy Castro (San Diego, Calif./Poway) in the corner for a three, and on the next possesion, Castro picked the pocket of Shoemaker and went coast-to-coast for a layup that tied the game at 62.
The Lyons took the lead back for good on Pierce's bucket on the next possession, and Brickley's layup with 1:57 to play put Wheaton up 68-62. Smith responded with a layup from Collins with 1:50 on the clock, and Solis sunk a pair of free throws with one minute remaining to pull Smith back within two.
Wheaton appeared to put the game out of reach when Kristen Ferrari knocked down two free throws for a 71-66 lead with 11 seconds left, but Smith would mount one final rally. Solis banked in a three with four seconds to go, and Smith immediately fouled, putting Brickley at the line. Brickley missed the first but drained the second, and Solis' three from the left wing clanged off the back iron as time expired.
Smith had jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in the first half as Collins hit two shots and set up Solis for two more baskets, but Wheaton got back in the game by going on a 12-2 run fueled by two threes from Kuhn and took the lead for good on a three by Alyssa Almario. Wheaton took their biggest lead of the half when Shoemaker converted a three point play, and took a 38-35 lead at halftime on Pierce's jumper with 41 seconds left.
Both teams will return to action on December 4. Smith will travel to Mount Holyoke, and Wheaton will host Emerson. Both games will start at 7 p.m.
