SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Wheaton College used a balanced offense, including a game-high 16 points from senior Kiley Shoemaker, to win the Battle of the Lyons and grab a 66-36 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Lyons of Wheaton move to 10-4 overall with a 3-2 mark in conference play. The Lyons of Mount Holyoke slip to 0-14 with an 0-6 mark in the NEWMAC.
Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) recorded 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field. She added seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a game-best two blocks over just 14 minutes played in the game. Four players added eight points in the contest, including sophomore forward Oppie Morris (Ware, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon), senior guard Alyssa Almario (West Orange, N.J./West Orange), first year guard Abby Hamilton (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) and sophomore guard Rebecca Olivieri (Milton, Mass./Fontbonne Academy). Junior guard Sophie Black (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) added a game-best 10 boards.
For MHC, senior guard Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School) posted a game-high 16 points, adding seven boards, an assist and two steals. Classmate and forward Siyao Sui (ShenZhen, China/St. Mary's School (N.C.) notched eight points with five rebounds, while first year Leah Hodges (New Haven, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) and sophomore Peyton Burr (Fayston, Vt./Harwood Union) each had four points.
The game opened close as the teams traded baskets, but Wheaton began to pull away at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter as Shoemaker sank a layup for an 11-4 lead. MHC closed the gap as Green hit a jumper and connected on a free throw to make it a nine-point game (18-9) with 3:52 to go, but a layup make with one second left by sophomore guard Jill Bodreau (Quinebaug, Conn./Marianapolis Prepatory) and the ensuing free throw made it a 26-14 game after one.
Wheaton carried the momentum into the second stanza, pulling out to a 19-point lead at 6:15 on a three from Olivieri. A layup by Burr cut the deficit, but an ensuing layup, followed by a trey from Hamilton made it a 44-22 game with just under four to go. Neither team was able to drum up much offense from that point as the visitors headed into halftime with a 47-22 lead.
In the third quarter, Green opened the frame with a steal, feeding it to Sui for the bucket, but Wheaton answered with a 6-0 run to make it a 55-26 game. The visitors opened the final period with a pair of free throw makes from Morris. Three layups in a row from Green helped Mount Holyoke cut the score to 59-32, but a three from Olivieri gave Wheaton its largest lead of the game (64-32) with 3:30 to go. Hodges also nailed back-to-back shots late, but the visitors held on for the victory.
Mount Holyoke is back in action on Saturday when it closes out its three-game homestand against Emerson at 1pm. Wheaton is right back on the court on Thursday in a 7pm match at MIT.
