Norton, Mass. – January 8, 2013 – Trailing 41-40 with 1:41 left to play, the Springfield College women’s basketball team could not complete its rally as Wheaton College held on for a 45-40 win in New England WomenÂ's and MenÂ's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday night at Emerson Gymnasium.

The Lyons went 4-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to even their record to 6-6, 3-3 in league play. Springfield drops to 2-10, 0-6.

  Sophomore forward Abbie Brickley compiled a game-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, one steal and one assist. Freshman forward Kiley Shoemaker notched nine points and 10 rebounds while freshman guard Rebecca Arnone tallied eight points, two rebounds and two steals.

  Freshman guard Heather Lewis led the Pride offensively with eight points, three caroms and one assist. Senior forward Emily Walker hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds and also had six points, two blocks, one assist and one steal.

  Down 35-31 at the 10:07 mark of the second half, Springfield cut its deficit to 36-35 on a layup from sophomore forward Jaimie Bickelhaupt at 8:57 and a jump shot by sophomore guard Riley Fake at the 7:12 mark. Bickelhaupt ended the contest with four points while Fake had five on the night.

  Wheaton answered with a 5-0 run over the next 2:03 of action to stretch its advantage to 41-35. Senior guard Meghan Biondolillo responded with a three-pointer from the right wing at 3:44 and a pair of made free throws at 1:41 to trim down the Lyons gap to one-point for the second time late in the half.

  McLaughlin went 3-for-4 at the line and junior forward Lauren McClelland canned 1-of-2 free throws down the stretch to close out the game.

  Biondolillo missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer from the right wing with 15-seconds left to play before McLaughlin made it a two-possession contest at the free throw line (44-40).

  The Lyons held a 22-21 advantage at halftime as Brickley led the hosts with six points and five rebounds. Lewis had a team-high eight points on 4-of-7 shooting to lead the Pride in the first stanza.

  Wheaton shot 32.7-percent from the field (16-for-49), 26.7-percent from beyond the arc (4-for-15) and 75.0-percent at the free throw line (9-for-12). Springfield connected on 32.7-percent of its shots (17-for-52), 22.2-percent from long distance (4-for-10) and 40.0-percent at the line (4-for-10).

The Pride outrebounded the Lyons, 40-34, and held a 14-10 differential in points off of turnovers. Wheaton posted a 22-18 margin in points in the paint and claimed the largest lead of the game, 29-21, at the 17:59 mark of the second half.

Springfield will next play on Thursday evening on the road at Coast Guard beginning at 7:00 pm.