NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team suffered just its fourth home loss in its last 32 games on Tuesday night, as the Lyons dropped a 77-58 non-conference decision to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) during the teams' first meeting in Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton saw its record fall to 3-2, while the Red Hawks extended their winning streak to five games to improve to 5-1. RPI's five victories have come by an average of 26.2 points.

The Lyons sprinted to a 21-10 lead 7:48 in, hitting nine of their first 13 shots, as senior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) scored eight points, including back-to-back threes 38 seconds apart. A lay-up by classmate Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) at 10:17 made it 25-14 before the Red Hawks went on a 25-2 run for a 39-27 advantage 1:23 into the second half. The Lyons only got nine shots off during that time while committing 13 turnovers. Meanwhile, RPI knocked down 10 of its last 15 shots, with nine being assisted.

After not attempting any first-half free throws, Wheaton eventually put up points from the charity stripe 3:37 into the second stanza when junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) hit a pair to bring the Lyons within 10. The Blue and White finished with 21 second-half free-throw attempts but only managed seven field goals, shooting 22.6 percent from the field. Wheaton narrowed its deficit to eight at 11:06 but came no closer, as a 6-0 Red Hawk spurt later in the half stretched RPI's lead to 67-49 at 6:08. The final margin ended up being the game's largest.

Kruse led three Wheaton double-figure scorers with 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench, while Hickey and Smith turned in 11 points each. Hickey also grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals. Junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) and freshman Shelby Pelkey (Chelsea, ME/Cony) accounted for eight points each.

RPI senior Whitney Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) had 17 points, a game-best seven assists and four steals. Freshman Sarah Wetmore (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) went 7-of-10 for 16 points while tallying six boards and three steals. Senior Elizabeth Barker (Suffield, CT/Cathedral) was two points shy of a double-double with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. First-year Nicole Monroe (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) and senior Ellen High (Plaistow, NH/Timberlane Regional) added nine and eight points, respectively.

The Lyons will head to Rhode Island one week from today to face non-conference opponent Roger Williams University at 7:00 p.m.