NEW PALTZ, NY- The Wheaton College women's basketball team had its one-point halftime edge taken away early in the second stanza and trailed for the remainder of play during Friday's opening round of the State University of New York at New Paltz Tip-Off Tournament, with the Lyons falling to the host Hawks, 69-62 in Elting Gymnasium.

Wheaton, which fell to 2-1, has a quick turnaround in preparing for tomorrow's consolation game against the Farmingdale State College Rams, who the Lyons face at 1:00 p.m. The 6:00 p.m. championship contest features the hosts versus William Smith College. New Paltz is 1-1.

Wheaton jumped out to a quick start, knocking down 5-of-6 shots while forging a 10-2 advantage just 2:29 in. Seniors Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) and Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) had four points each in the run. The Lyons built their lead to nine twice before New Paltz scored eight straight to knot the contest at 17 at the 11:34 mark. Three lead swings and a trio of ties ensued before a Hickey three with 46 ticks left in the half provided the Blue and White with a 35-34 edge, and Wheaton took a 37-36 lead into the break.

The Lyon offense went cold in the second half, converting just 18.5 percent of its field goals and 11.1 percent of its three-point attempts. Of Wheaton's 25 second-half points, 14 came from the charity stripe. A basket by junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) at 17:08 accounted for the Blue and White's lone points through the first 9:06 of the second frame, as the Lyons found themselves in a 51-39 hole.

A 7-0 run over 1:52 whittled Wheaton's deficit down to two with 6:37 to go. Junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) scored three straight to bring the Lyons within one at 5:22, but a three-pointer from freshman Kaitlin Clifford (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) 22 seconds later made it 58-54, and Wheaton came no closer than three the rest of the way. The Hawks nailed seven of their final eight free-throw tries during the last 1:08.

Hickey led Wheaton with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Bailey turned in a solid all-around effort with 13 points, a career-high 12 boards, six assists and three steals. Freshman Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) tallied nine points and seven rebounds, and junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) went for eight points and seven boards.

Hawk junior Carly Minehan (Albany, NY/Albany), who knocked down all eight of her free-throw attempts, accounted for 23 points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds. Freshman Zoe Cohen (Brooklyn, NY/Berkeley Carroll School) and Clifford finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while junior Maggie Farrell (Hillsdale, NY/Immaculate) swiped eight rebounds and handed out four assists. Classmate Nicole Sarcone (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) had seven assists and five boards.