WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Eight different Wheaton College women's basketball players scored at least six points as the Lyons' balanced scoring attack led to a 79-59 victory over Rivier College in the consolation game of Monday's Williams College Winter Classic in Chandler Gymnasium.
Defeating the Raiders for the second time this season, Wheaton snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 4-6. Rivier dropped its 10th straight contest to fall to 1-10.
Named to the all-tournament team, sophomore Jeana Trimboli (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) finished with 12 points after pouring in a career-high 30 yesterday. Classmate Natasha Colon Ortiz (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) notched a double-double with a team-high 13 markers and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes, as she reached double-figure boards for the second straight game.
Junior Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds, as the Lyons held a commanding 60-41 advantage on the glass, to go alongside eight points. Junior Nicole Cullinane (Rindge, NH/New Hampton School) tallied eight points and six assists, while freshman Laura Pierce (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) had a game-high seven helpers.
Sophomore Gabby Barbera (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) matched a career best with seven rebounds to go with six points, freshman Sarah Fitzgerald (Bath, ME/Morse) also recorded six points and seven boards, while sophomore Jana Jagodzinski (Old Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) and freshman Lauren McClelland (Scituate, MA/Notre Dame) each had six markers.
For Rivier, freshman Britney Lane (Waterford, VT/Saint Johnsbury Academy) went for a game-high 18 points, while junior Amandra Purcell (Hudson, NH/Alvirne) had 12 points, five assists and three steals. Freshman Erin Sweeney (Chicopee, MA/Chicopee Comprehensive) added 10 points.
Off to a slow start, Wheaton trailed 7-4 in the early going before scoring nine unanswered points for a 13-7 advantage at 12:45. After the Raiders made the score 13-11, the Blue and White responded with six consecutive points for a 19-11 advantage with 9:50 to play before the intermission. Pierce connected on a three 34 seconds later to give the Lyons a 22-13 lead. Wheaton extended its cushion to 30-19 at the 3:04 mark but didn't score the rest of the half, as Rivier used a 6-0 spurt to climb within five entering the locker room.
In the second half, the Lyons turned a 43-35 edge at 15:07 into a commanding 54-36 advantage with 13:20 remaining. The Raiders narrowed their gap to 13 on two occasions, with the latter coming at 65-52 with 6:34 to go, but an 8-0 Wheaton stretch over 1:22 sealed the victory. Cullinane and Trimboli drained back-to-back threes 33 seconds apart to spark the run.
The Lyons will play their third road game in four days when they travel to South Hadley on Wednesday for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest at Mount Holyoke College at 7:00 p.m.