NORTON, MA- Wheaton College cruised to a 62-24 victory over Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during Wednesday night's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action in Emerson Gymnasium.

Downing the Engineers for the 12th straight time, the hosts are now 11-7 overall and 5-1 in league play. MIT slipped to 4-12 and 0-6.

The Lyons used a strong second half to pull away, outscoring the Engineers 18-0 to begin the frame for a 43-14 advantage at 11:30. After scoring 12 points by 8:22 of the opening half, the Engineers missed 21 of their next 23 baskets while committing 15 giveaways, as Wheaton led by as many as 40 points late in the contest. The Blue and White knocked down 50 percent of its second-half field goal tries and held MIT to 14.8 percent.

A defensive struggle ensued in the opening half, with the hosts making 35.7 percent of their baskets compared to 20 percent for the Engineers. The teams also combined for 23 turnovers. After MIT senior Cheryl Kwinn (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) scored the game's first four points, Wheaton used a 15-2 run in 7:30 to capture a 15-6 lead at 10:58. Senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) turned in nine points during the stretch. Leading 17-12, the Lyons closed the stanza on an 8-2 spurt for a 25-14 halftime edge.

Hickey led the way with a game-best 12 points, while senior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) contributed with nine rebounds and seven assists, and classmate Stephanie Walker (Somers, CT/Somers) grabbed a career-best seven boards.

Kwinn paced the visitors with nine points and nine rebounds, freshman Hannah Sparkman (Tenafly, NJ/Bergen County Academies) added five points, and senior Amy Marshall (San Marcos, TX/San Marcos) pulled down seven rebounds.

The Lyons hit the road on Saturday for a league game at Springfield College in a rematch of last year's NEWMAC Tournament championship game. Action is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.