Women's Basketball (4-4) Drops Three of Four to Complete First-Semester Schedule

The Wheaton College women's basketball team finished the first semester with a 1-3 record in its final four contests, beginning with a 77-58 loss to visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on November 25. The Lyons followed that with a 75-66 victory at Roger Williams University on Tuesday before dropping home affairs to 12th-ranked Brandeis University, 69-54 on Thursday and Salve Regina University, 68-66 on Saturday. Against the Seahawks, junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) tied Lynne Yenush's '92 school record of 86 career blocked shots.

Against RPI, Wheaton saw an 11-point lead wiped out by halftime. Junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) led the Lyons with 12 points off the bench, while senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) turned in 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Classmate Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) also notched 11 points.

Champney posted 22 points at Roger Williams, while junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) tallied a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists to go along with four steals, collecting the most helpers by a Lyon since January 13, 2007. Hickey was 5-of-7 for 15 points, and senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) turned in 11 points. Smith had five assists.

Wheaton trailed Brandeis, which was ranked 12th nationally by D3hoops.com, by just eight points with a little more than four minutes remaining in regulation before coming up short. Hickey had 17 points, Champney totaled 10 points and eight rebounds, while Pleat had seven points and four helpers.

The Lyons wiped out a 10-point deficit behind a 16-2 run against Salve Regina before the Seahawks went on top for good late. Hickey shot 11-of-17 while collecting 29 points, coming within one of her career high, and snagging nine rebounds, including the 500th of her career. She added four assists and tied a career best by canning four three-pointers, as 19 of her points came in the final 11:10. Bailey had 16 points and four assists, while Champney had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Pleat contributed five helpers, and freshman Shelby Pelkey (Chelsea, ME/Cony) turned in four assists.

Hickey is fourth in program history in career points (1,290), sitting 23 shy of third, and she is also fourth in field goals (496), seventh in free throws (215) and tied for seventh in three-pointers (83). Smith is third in threes (129) while sitting one point shy of 800, and Bailey is eighth in assists (227).