NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team had its hands full during Wednesday night's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener against nationally-ranked Babson College, as the Lyons fell to the Beavers by a 65-35 count in Emerson Gymnasium.
Playing Babson in a rematch of last year's NEWMAC Tournament semifinal game, Wheaton slips below the .500 mark at 2-3, while the Beavers, who entered tonight's action ranked 10th in the country by D3hoops.com, won for the fifth time in as many games.
Lyon sophomore Jeana Trimboli (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) knocked down five threes, one shy of her career best, for a team-high 18 points. She went 5-of-11 from deep and 3-of-3 at the charity stripe while notching two steals. Classmate Natasha Colon Ortiz (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) pulled down a team-best eight boards to go alongside four points and two steals.
Babson sophomore Sarah Collins (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) was one block shy of a triple-double, notching game highs of 19 points, 14 boards and nine rejections. She also had four assists and two steals. Junior Nicole Wurdeman (Rowley, MA/Triton Regional) recorded 15 markers and nine caroms, classmate Kathleen King (Framingham, MA/Framingham) turned in 12 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Damisi Adewumi (Bronx, NY/Academy of Mount Saint Ursula) added 11 points.
Wheaton, which shot just 20 percent from the floor, hung around early, as the teams experienced a pair of ties and one lead change through the first five-plus minutes, with the Lyons and Beavers knotted at six. Babson proceeded to score 11 unanswered points over a 3:58 span for a 17-6 advantage at 9:54. Collins ignited the spurt with the run's first six markers. Leading 25-13 at 3:40, the visitors used an 8-2 stretch to build a 33-15 lead with seven ticks left. Trimboli made a trio of freebies with no time on the clock to pull Wheaton within 15.
Holding a 51-32 rebounding advantage while shooting 45.9 percent from the field, Babson extended its margin to 25 points at 46-21 not even five minutes into the second half. The hosts narrowed the gap to 46-26 by the 14:14 mark, but the Beavers went on a 14-2 tear to lead 60-28 at 4:42. Collins recorded six points and four blocks in that stretch, as Wheaton would get no closer than 28 the rest of the way.
Wheaton finishes up its five-game homestand on Saturday against league opponent United States Coast Guard Academy in the front end of a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.