Box Score
NORTON, Mass. – Smith College senior
Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) buried two free throws with five seconds remaining to seal a 65-61 triumph over host Wheaton on Saturday afternoon in a key New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball game played inside Emerson Gymnasium.
Senior
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) led all scorers with 26 points, one shy of her career-best, and matched her career-high of 14 rebounds. Parkmond finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four steals, while junior
Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) tallied 11 points and recorded three steals. Senior
Marissa Munoz-Ruiz (Fairfield, Calif./Justin-Siena) chipped in with nine points, five assists and five steals.
Wheaton sophomore forward Kiley Shoemaker registered her team-leading seventh double-double of the season with 20 points, ten rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block. Shoemaker shot 5-for-10 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Junior forward Abbie Brickley turned in her ninth-straight double digit game with 13 points and eight rebounds. Classmate Kirsten Ferrari added ten points, three assists and one steal. Senior Lauren McClelland hauled in eight rebounds, dished out three assists and collected a pair of blocks and steals in 19 minutes off the bench.
The Lyons held a 40-36 advantage at the break as Brickley and Shoemaker combined for 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Smith erased an early 11-point deficit (15-4) with 16:45 remaining in the opening stanza in large part to 17 points from Drummond and a team field goal percentage of .483 (14-for-29).
Wheaton withstood the Pioneers comeback effort until the 8:43 mark of the second half. Parkmond finally evened the score for Smith with a successful and-one play to make it a 50-50 score. After both teams exchanged misses, Parkmond put home a tough layup with 7:44 remaining to claim a 52-50 lead.
Brickley and Shoemaker answered for the Lyons with two points each to bring the game level once again, this time at 56-56, but Parkmond delivered another go-ahead basket at the 4:05 mark and the Pioneers held on for the victory.
Smith shot 44.8-percent (26-for-58) from the field, held a 22-13 margin in points off turnovers and a 38-18 differential in points in the paint. Wheaton posted a 16-6 gap in second chance points, won the rebounding matchup 41-33 and logged a .339 field goal percentage. Both teams combined for 46 turnovers and 26 steals.
Smith (8-9, 8-5 NEWMAC) travels to nationally-ranked Williams College on Monday for a non-league game at 7:30 p.m. Wheaton (14-4, 9-4 NEWMAC) visits Emerson College for a NEWMAC contest on Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Major portions courtesy Wheaton Sports Information
