Springfield, Mass. - November 29, 2015 - Led by a combined 24 points from senior guard Heather Lewis (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Heather King (Lebanon, N.H.), the Springfield College women's basketball program picked up a 47-45 victory over Wheaton College to open its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) slate on Sunday afternoon at Blake Arena.

With the win, Springfield improves to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Lyons now hold a mark of 3-2 and suffer its first conference setback. On the day, the Pride shot 21-for-58 (36.2%), while Wheaton mustered up 15-of-49 (30.6%) shooting from the floor.

For Springfield, along with her team-leading 14 points, Lewis registered five rebounds one block and two steals, while King notched her second-straight double-double, picking up 10 rebounds over the course of the contest. Additionally, senior forward Emily Gins (Fort Myers, Fla.) posted nine points to go along with six rebounds, and junior center Ava Adamopoulos (Ludlow, Mass.) tallied eight points and five rebounds off the bench.

Senior Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y.) was dominant for the Lyons, registering 14 points to go along with 16 rebounds over 34 minutes of play, while Ruthie Zientek (Holmdel, N.J.) had seven points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench for the visitors.

After Adamopoulos evened the game at eight apiece with a basket at the 6:07 mark of the opening quarter, Wheaton benefitted from back-to-back lay-ups by Sophie Black (Gloucester, Mass.) and Zientek, respectively, to take a 12-8 lead over the Pride. On Springfield's next trip down the floor, junior guard Lexi Windwer (Milton, Mass.) found Lewis in the corner for a three-pointer to bring the Pride back to within one.

Zientek would convert a pair of free-throws to make it 14-11, but King nailed a basket as time expired to make it 14-13, Wheaton, at the end of one.

Up 18-14 following a three-pointer from Molly McCausland (Millbury, Mass.) with 8:44 left in the half, Springfield saw its lead extend to eleven following a 9-2 run, capped by a steal and lay-up from Lewis with 4:54 on the clock. With just seconds until the break, Zientek brought the Lyons back to within seven following a free-throw to make it 27-20 at the half.

Springfield got out to a hot start in the third quarter, taking a 33-26 lead midway through the period following a lay-in from Gins. Following suit, King knocked down a jumper from the baseline to push the Pride's lead back to nine with 3:03 remaining, before Wheaton scored five unanswered points, including a pair of free-throws from Shoemaker to make it 39-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 2:59 left in the game, Adamopoulos converted a lay-up to make it 47-41, but the Lyons show its resiliency and climbed back to make it a two-point game after two more free-throws from Zientek. Following a Wheaton timeout, the Lyons attempted a game-winning three pointer, but the bid fell just short as the Pride sealed its third win of the year.

Up next, Springfield will return to Blake Arena on Wednesday, December 2 when it will host Mount Holyoke at 7 p.m.