NORTON, MA- The defending New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament champion Wheaton College women's basketball team overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to turn back fifth-seeded Clark University, 73-62 during a Wednesday night first round game in Emerson Gymnasium.

With the win, the fourth-seeded Lyons advance to Saturday's semifinal round. Wheaton, which improved to 14-0 during home conference tournament games, will face host and top seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at 12:00 p.m. The game will mark the 10th meeting between the teams in the last three years. The Lyons are 16-10 overall, while Clark finishes its season at 13-13.

Trailing 44-35 with 13:53 remaining, the hosts used a 12-2 spurt in a little more than three minutes to capture a 47-46 edge at 10:32. Cougar junior Jillian Camilleri's (Lancaster, MA/Nashoba Regional) lay-up 10 seconds later made the score 48-47 before Wheaton retook the lead for good. Back-to-back baskets by junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) spurred a 6-0 Lyon run that led to a 53-48 edge at 8:34. After the visitors sliced their deficit to 53-52, the Blue and White soon pushed its advantage back out to five at 57-52.

The Cougars' final push resulted in getting within three points four times, including for the final time at 63-60 on a Camilleri lay-in with 2:36 showing, but buckets by senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) and junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) gave the Lyons a 67-60 cushion at 1:45. Wheaton went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 52 seconds to seal the win.

The teams opened play with eight lead swings by 12:50 of the first half, as a three from senior Nicole LeVecque (Billerica, MA/Billerica) sparked a 7-0 Clark run that left the Cougars with a 19-13 advantage at 10:46. After Wheaton responded with seven of the next nine points to get within 21-20, including five from senior Lauren Gosline (Peterborough, NH/ConVal Regional), Clark extended its lead to 27-20 with five minutes to go before the break. Kruse and senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) combined to score Wheaton's next nine points during a 9-2 run that forced a 29-all knot at the 1:16 mark. A Cougar basket and Lyon free throw completed the half's scoring, with the visitors carrying a 31-30 edge into the locker room.

Hickey shot 8-of-13 for a game-best 18 points while pulling down seven boards to go with five assists. Pleat went 6-for-9 for 13 points, classmate Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) contributed 12 points, and Kruse turned in 11 points and five boards off the bench. Champney was a basket shy of a double-double with eight points and a game-best 10 rebounds, while classmate Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) dished out a game-high eight assists to only one turnover.

The Cougars were led by freshman Ivori Aiken (Harlem, NY/Hyde School), who poured in 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, ME/Messalonskee) knocked down eight freebies to finish with 13 points, while classmate Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) shot 6-of-9 for 12 points. Camilleri added seven points and eight rebounds.