NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team finished its first semester of action on a down note Saturday afternoon, falling to visiting Salve Regina University, 68-66 in a non-league game at Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons enter the semester break with a 4-4 mark, while the Seahawks improve to 5-3.

Wheaton fell to Salve Regina for the fourth straight time despite a season-high 29 points and nine rebounds from senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School), who also grabbed her 500th career board. Hickey knocked down 11-of-17 shots from the floor, going 4-of-7 from the three-point stripe. Junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) had 16 points, while classmate Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) added 12 points and four blocks, as she is now tied for first at Wheaton in career rejections with 86.

Seahawk senior Allegra Lovoy (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) turned in a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to go alongside five assists. Freshman Lindsay Shorey (Ashland, MA/Ashland) posted 12 points, and sophomore Erin Phillips (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) chipped in with 11 points and eight boards.

After shooting just 38.7 percent in the first half, the visitors knocked down 54.2 percent of their second-half attempts. Wheaton bounced back from a 30.3 percent showing in the opening stanza to make 51.9 percent of its second-half shots, as the Lyons were credited with 19 assists on 24 field goals for the game. The Seahawks held a slim 36-33 edge on the glass.

Down 49-39 with 12:31 showing, the hosts went on a 16-2 run over 6:22 to secure a 55-51 lead, with Hickey dropping in 11 points and Bailey the other five. However, Salve Regina responded with a 12-2 spurt during 3:07 to lead 63-57 at 2:29. Lovoy and Shorey each had four points in the run.

With the Seahawks clinging to a 67-63 edge with 19 ticks to play, Hickey sank a triple to bring Wheaton within one with three seconds left, but it proved to be too little too late as the Lyons were unable to get off an attempt after Lovoy missed the second of two free throws.

In a back-and-forth opening half, neither team led by more than six points. Champney's basket 15 seconds in was Wheaton's lone lead until the 9:32 mark, when she hit a pair of freebies for a 16-14 edge during a 10-0 stretch. The margin stayed within four points for much of the remainder of the stanza.

A Hickey jumper forced the first-half's fifth tie at 2:19 before the Seahawks closed the stanza on an 8-2 run for a 34-28 halftime lead. Salve Regina had a 25-15 rebounding advantage, but Wheaton committed just three giveaways, holding an 11-3 edge in points off turnovers.

The Lyons are off from competition until Tuesday, December 30, when they play William Smith College at Bowdoin College's Coastal Maine Classic at 4:00 p.m.