SPRINGFIELD, MA- In a rematch of last year's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship game, the defending-champion Wheaton College women's basketball team fell 61-53 at Springfield College in Blake Arena on Saturday. The Lyons slipped to 11-8 overall and 5-2 in the league, while the Pride is now 11-8 and 6-1.

The game's third lead change put Springfield up 5-4 just 2:12 into the contest before the Pride twice pushed its lead out to seven points. Wheaton was down 19-14 with 8:06 to go in the period before scoring the next eight points, holding the hosts without another field goal until 1:14 remained.

Senior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) dropped in five straight points during the run, including a go-ahead three-pointer at 3:40. Junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) made it 22-19 on a hoop at 2:46, but Pride senior Corey Finch (Hanover, PA/Hanover) hit a jumper at 1:14 and snagged a rebound before being fouled and hitting two freebies at 1:03 to give the Pride a 23-22 edge, one it took into the locker room.

The teams combined to shoot just 2-of-13 from three-point range in the opening half. The Lyons committed only five turnovers to the Pride's eight, but Springfield held a 22-15 advantage on the glass.

Each team hit a three within the first 34 seconds of the second half, and the hosts twice stretched their lead to as many as five before Wheaton rallied. Down by a 32-27 count, the Lyons received three free throws before a Kruse bucket tied the game, and three consecutive freebies from senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) later knotted the contest at 35. Hickey followed with a go-ahead hoop and, after Finch knocked down two free throws, Smith canned a three to give the visitors a 40-37 edge at 10:43.

Wheaton eventually upped its advantage to 44-41 on a pair of freebies by junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) with 4:51 to go, and a Springfield three forced a short-lived tie before junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) dropped in a go-ahead bucket for the Lyons, making it 46-44 with 4:10 left.

The Pride took over from there, scoring 11 straight points during a 2:38 span to grab a 55-46 advantage with 1:11 remaining. Bailey nailed a three to draw the Lyons within 55-49 with 59 seconds to go, and a later Hickey bucket made it 58-53 with 13 ticks left but Wheaton came no closer.

Smith finished with a team-high 14 points while hitting three threes, and Champney added 12 points. Hickey contributed nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Bailey totaled nine points and seven assists to just one turnover.

Finch led all players with 25 points and 11 rebounds, going 9-of-9 from the charity stripe, while freshman Kelly Murphy (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was the only other Springfield player with more than seven points, totaling 14.

Wheaton returns home for its next two games, first by facing Babson College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the second half of a doubleheader with the men.