Springfield, Mass. - December 6, 2014 - Behind a career-high 18 points from junior forward Emily Gins (Fort Myers, Fla.), the Springfield College women's basketball program knocked off Wheaton College 55-43 on Saturday afternoon at Blake Arena.

With the win, the Pride has now strung together back-to-back wins against New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference opponents and improves to 2-3 overall. With the loss, Wheaton, which was receiving votes in the latest USA Today Women's Basketball National Rankings, falls to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.Springfield went 25-for-54 (46.3%) from the field, while the visitors shot 16-for-60 (26.7%).

Along with Gins, junior guard Heather Lewis (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) put together a 10-point performance, while senior forward Jaimie Bickelhaupt (Brookfield, Conn.) registered eight points to go along with a game-high 16 rebounds for the Pride.

Down 8-2 in the early goings, the Pride went on a 6-0 tear, capped off with a lay-up in transition from Bickelhaupt to even the game at eight points apiece and forcing a Wheaton timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Springfield continued their run to 12 unanswered points to give the hosts a 14-8 lead, but was halted when Brickley hit a layup to pull the Lyons back to within four.

Up 19-13 with 4:15 left in the opening half, Lewis took over the game and netted all ten of her first half points in a span of 3:57 to give the Pride a 29-15 lead going into the half.

After Bickelhaupt knocked down a jumper to kick off the second half, both sides traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the second half, before the Pride went on a a 10-2 run to give the Pride a 20-point cushion with 6:58 remaining in the contest, capped off by a lay-up from Gins.

After a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Dina Pitsas (Milford, N.H.) to give the Pride a 53-34 victory, the Pride were able to fend off a late rally from the Lyons, as Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y.) converted a lay-up, only to have Kenzie Kuhn (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) and Sarah Caron (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) knock down back-to-back three-pointers to cut Wheaton's deficit to 12.

The Pride will be back in action on Friday, December 12 when it will host Worcester State in a non-conference battle at 7:30 p.m.