WELLESLEY, MA- Senior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) combined to score 12 straight points late in regulation, and the Wheaton College women's basketball team used a 14-0 run to rally past Wellesley College, 63-54 on Wednesday evening in Keohane Sports Center.

The Lyons, who improved to 13-9 overall and 7-3 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play, extended their series winning streak to seven games after entering the contest tied for fourth in the league. The Blue slipped to 9-9 and 3-7.

Smith shot 7-of-8 on free-throw tries and scored 14 of her team-high 17 points in the second half, as all five Wheaton starters notched double-digit point totals. A point guard, Bailey turned in a team-high five boards during the final stanza to help the Lyons hold a 36-34 carom edge for the game against a team ranked third in Division III in rebound margin. Bailey finished with 11 points, seven assists, six boards and five steals.

Wheaton needed a late second-half surge to completely erase an eight-point hole. Smith provided a personal 6-0 run to bring the Lyons within 48-46 with 8:26 left, and Bailey later knotted the contest at 52 with 3:34 to go. Bailey added a go-ahead freebie at 3:02 before finding Smith for a three-pointer that made it 56-52 with 2:38 remaining. During the final two minutes, Smith tacked on four free throws and Bailey added a pair, as Wheaton held the Blue off the board for a 6:54 stretch before yielding its final bucket with 38 ticks left.

The Lyons had early offensive trouble during the teams' last meeting on January 24, needing nearly 11 minutes to score their first eight points, but Bailey hit a jumper to make it 8-4 just 4:50 into the opening half on Wednesday, and junior Jenny Champney's (Bedford, MA/Bedford) three-point play gave Wheaton a 13-7 lead at 13:47. The hosts countered with a 7-0 run to take their first advantage, as the teams swapped leads four times in a 3:13 span during the middle of the half. The Lyons went in front for the remainder of the stanza after senior Krystin Hickey's (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) bucket made it 17-16 at 9:14.

A Hickey three with 5:40 left in the period gave Wheaton another six-point edge, and she knocked down a pair of free throws at 1:07 to establish a 31-25 cushion before Wellesley senior Jessica Duff (Abingdon, UK/Saline) converted a three-point play with two seconds remaining. The Lyons held a 31-28 halftime advantage after committing nine turnovers to the Blue's 14. Hickey paced Wheaton with 11 points, while Duff had 15 for Wellesley, which shot 42.3 percent but went 1-of-8 from three-point range.

Within 1:40 of the second period beginning, Wellesley grabbed a lead, but Bailey knocked down a jumper to give the Lyons a 36-35 advantage at the 16:59 mark. From there, the Blue scored nine straight points during a 2:13 span to go up 44-36. Wheaton still trailed by eight at 48-40 before scoring 23 of the final 29 points, with its big 14-0 run starting after falling behind by a 52-46 count.

Senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South), who appeared in her program-record 107th consecutive game, shot 5-of-7 with 12 points for Wheaton. Hickey totaled 11 points and eight rebounds, Champney notched 10 points and six boards, while freshman Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) provided seven rebounds in 15 minutes as a reserve.

Duff had 19 points, 11 boards and three blocks for the Blue, while senior Julia Thomas (Concord, CA/Northgate) totaled 10 points and eight rebounds. Wellesley finished 3-of-20 from beyond the arc and went 5-of-9 at the charity stripe, compared to Wheaton's 18-of-23 showing.

The Lyons celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, hosting their final regular season contest when they take on NEWMAC leader Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at 3:00 p.m.