NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's basketball team took advantage of a rare opportunity to host the same league school twice during the regular season on Thursday night, as the Lyons handed visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) a 57-24 loss in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game in Emerson Gymnasium.

Originally scheduled to be played yesterday in Cambridge, the game was postponed and moved to Norton after the teams learned there would be no officials. Extending its winning streak to 13 games over the Engineers, Wheaton improved to 14-10 overall and 8-4 in league play. MIT slipped to 4-18 and 0-12.

After five lead swings ensued over the first 10:22 of the opening half, the Lyons began to pull away. Holding the Engineers scoreless for the final 8:53, Wheaton ended the half with a 13-0 spurt, as senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) turned in six points during the stretch. The hosts went to the line 12 times in the frame, making nine, while MIT had zero attempts. The Engineers shot just 21.7 percent and committed 13 turnovers.

A bucket by senior Cheryl Kwinn (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) brought the Engineers within 12 points 38 seconds into the second half before Wheaton went on an 18-4 run in just under an eight-minute span to lead 44-18 at 11:09. Eventually ballooning their advantage to 33 points, the Lyons shot 43.8 percent for the stanza and 60 percent beyond the three-point arc, as Wheaton took the only two free throws in the half.

Ten Lyon players broke into the scoring column, led by Hickey's 12 points and four steals in 19 minutes. Senior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) turned in eight points and six assists, while freshman Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) tallied eight points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench. Junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) recorded a career-best six steals.

Kwinn paced MIT with eight points and a game-best eight boards, while freshman Jamie Simmons (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad) added six points.

In order to have a chance at hosting a NEWMAC Tournament first-round game, the Lyons will need to win at Clark University on Saturday afternoon and await results from around the league. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m.