NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team hung tough early against nationally-ranked Brandeis University before falling to the unbeaten Judges, 69-54 in non-conference action Thursday night in Emerson Gymnasium.

The Lyons saw their record fall to 4-3 overall, while Brandeis, which is ranked 12th in the latest D3hoops.com poll and has won the last 10 meetings, improved to 7-0.

Three lead swings and a pair of ties took place by 12:42 of the opening half, with junior Jessica Chapin (Mendon, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) scoring six straight points to give the Judges a 17-15 edge and spark an 11-0 run. Brandeis connected on eight of its first 10 shots for a 20-15 lead at 11:19. The visitors held a 12-4 rebounding edge while taking a 25-20 edge on another Chapin basket at 5:57.

Wheaton crept to within 25-23 on a traditional three-point play from freshman Shelby Pelkey (Chelsea, ME/Cony) before the Judges scored eight straight over 1:46, and Brandeis carried a 35-27 edge into the break. Chapin led all scorers with 13 points at the half, as the Judges made 53.8 percent of their baskets while outrebounding the hosts by a 22-9 margin. Senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) paced the Lyons with 10.

Hickey's jumper at 14:22 of the second half brought Wheaton to within seven at 44-37, but four Brandeis players scored a bucket apiece during an 8-1 run, which provided the Judges with a 52-38 advantage with 10:33 to go. Brandeis pushed its lead out to 15 at 56-41 with 7:48 on the clock before the Lyons scored 11 of the next 15 points to get within 60-52 at 4:33, but Judge senior Cassidy Dadaos (Healdsburg, CA/Healdsburg) went on a personal 7-2 run during a 3:18 stretch to ice the victory.

Hickey finished with a game-best 17 points, junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) turned in 10 points and eight rebounds, while senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) added seven points and four assists.

Chapin and senior Lauren Orlando (Peabody, MA/Peabody) posted 15 points apiece, and Chapin pulled down seven rebounds with three steals. Dadaos accounted for 11 points and eight boards, while junior Lauren Rashford (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) had eight points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Wheaton plays its final game before the semester break on Saturday against visiting Salve Regina University at 1:00 p.m.