NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's basketball team committed just eight turnovers and defeated visiting Salve Regina University, 61-52, this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. 

The Lyons win their seventh straight game to improve to 8-1 on the season including a perfect 6-0 at home. The Seahawks fall to 6-2.

The Wheaton defense held Salve Regina to just 29.3% (17-58) shooting from the floor and controlled the offensive glass with 21 offensive boards included in a total of 50 caroms for the game. The Lyons outscored their guests, 13-7, in second chance points and made a living in the paint, outscoring the Seahawks, 28-8, in the key.

Sophomore guard Abby Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) scored 16 points to go with five rebounds, four steals, two assists and a blocked shot for Wheaton, while classmate Greta Minos (Boston, Mass.) netted 15 points on 5-10 from the field in addition to grabbing seven rebounds, dishing for two assists and coming up with a steal and a block. First year forward Nasha Arnold (North Reading, Mass.) broke out with her first career double-double on a personal-best 13 points and 14 rebounds and added a pair of steals in 24 minutes off the bench.

Senior guard Morgan Shuey (Corning, Iowa) led all scorers for Salve Regina with 18 points and was 3-5 from three-point range in addition to pulling down four rebounds, handing out four assists and picking up a pair of steals. Junior guard Amanda Folan (North Attleboro, Mass.) contributed with 16 points, including 4-7 from three-point territory and added seven rebounds and three assists, while junior forward Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

The Lyons set the tone in the first quarter, holding the Seahawks to just 3-14 from the floor and owning a 16-4 advantage on the boards en-route to a 23-7 first quarter lead. 

Shuey canned a three-pointer to pull Salve Regina even at 5-5 with 6:50 showing on the first quarter clock, before Wheaton asserted itself with a torrid 18-2 run to close out the half, including seven points from Fernandes.

The Seahawks put together a 13-5 stretch to open the second quarter, paced by five points from Folan, to cut the deficit to 28-20 with 4:46 to play in the period. The Lyons shot back with seven straight points, including six from Minos, to bump their lead back to double-digits at 37-20 with 77 seconds left in the second quarter. Fernandes hit a jumper following an offensive board for the last points of the opening half to give the home team a 39-22 lead before the intermission.

Salve Regina regrouped and went on a 12-3 burst to open the third quarter, behind five points from Shuey, to pull to within 42-34 with 6:14 remaining in the period. In keeping with Wheaton's trend, it responded with a 9-2 run to build the lead back to 15 at 51-36 with 29 ticks left in the quarter. 

Sophomore guard Sydney Ropes (Duxbury, Mass.) hit a jumper outside of the paint to increase the Lyons' cushion to 54-38 with 9:28 showing in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks ripped off eight unanswered points to cut the margin to 54-46 with 6:35 to play in the game. Fernandes later converted a fastbreak layup after a turnover to give Wheaton a 59-48 lead with 1:43 remaining in the contest. Salve Regina scored the next four points to close within its smallest deficit at 59-52, before Arnold knocked down a pair of free throws to set the final for the Lyons.

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, December 10 when it hosts Roger Williams University at 1:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium, while the Seahawks play again on December 28 when they take on Concordia College (Minn.) at 7:00 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev. in the D3hoops.com Classic.