Lyons drop to .500 with 59-46 loss at regional power Brandeis

December 6, 2007

WALTHAM, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team forged an early lead against Brandeis University, which is receiving votes in both national polls, before succumbing to the Judges, 59-46 in Auerbach Arena on Thursday evening. The Lyons fell to .500 at 3-3, while Brandeis improved to 6-2 on the season with its fourth straight victory.

After the hosts scored the first hoop of the game after 1:13 had elapsed, the Lyons connected on three consecutive three-point tries during their next four possessions. Junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) hit the first two, and classmate Krystin Hickey's (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) ensuing long-range shot made it 9-2 at 16:47.

From there, Brandeis senior Jaime Capra (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) tallied nine points during a 15-2 Judge run that put the hosts on top, 17-11 with 9:40 remaining in the opening half. Wheaton crept to within three points on a trio of occasions before the halftime buzzer sounded, but the Judges went into the locker room with a 29-22 lead after a Capra bucket with 31 seconds to go.

During the opening 13:45 of the second half, Wheaton scored only once from the field, on a Hickey lay-up at 16:35, as Brandeis extended its lead to as much as 19 points three times in that span. Beginning with Capra's hoop late in the first half, the Judges used an 18-6 run to capture their initial 19-point cushion, 47-28 at 11:05 when Capra hit a free throw. Wheaton scored the game's final seven points to nearly cut a 20-point deficit in half.

Wheaton only trailed by seven at halftime after shooting 32.1 percent in the opening stanza and yielding Brandeis a 39.4 percent clip. The Lyons clamped down even more defensively in the second half, holding the Judges to 35.5 percent shooting, but hit only 5-of-29 shots for a 17.2 percent showing. The Blue and White committed only nine turnovers for the game and went 14-of-19 from the charity stripe, with every attempt coming in the second half, but the hosts held a decisive 53-33 rebounding advantage.

Hickey led the Lyons with 13 points to go along with four rebounds, while Smith was also in double figures with 10 points. Sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) added six points and five boards, while classmate Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) contributed a game-high six assists and a team-best eight rebounds from her point guard position. Sophomore Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) turned in three blocked shots.

Capra carried the Judges, as she was 10-of-18 for 24 points while snagging eight caroms and dishing out four assists. Junior Lauren Orlando (Peabody, MA/Peabody) had 10 points, sophomore Jessica Chapin (Mendon, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) totaled nine points, six rebounds and five steals, while senior Kiersten Holgash (Easton, PA/Easton Area) collected 11 boards.

Wheaton completes the 2007 portion of its home slate on Saturday when the Lyons take on Roger Williams University at 1:00 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 12/7/07.
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