BOX SCORE

Babson Park, Mass. - The Babson College women's Basketball team fell to visiting Wheaton College 71-61 in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest Saturday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium. Babson first-year Nicole Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.) led the Beavers with 17 points and 9 rebounds in the losing effort, while the Lyons were led by senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, N.H.) with 22 points and six rebounds. With the loss, the Beavers drop to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the NEWMAC and the Lyons are now 8-5 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

For the Beavers, Wurdeman scored 10 of her 17 total points in the second half which included two big three-point baskets. First-year Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.) tallied 16 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes of play, and sophomore guard Kristy Benoit (Shrewsbury, Mass.) had a quality performance off the bench tallying 12 points and five rebounds.  Sophomore Amanda Grammel (Leominster, Mass.) led the Beavers with five assists to go with five boards.

Hickey scored 15 of her game-high 22 in the second half for the Lyons. She was followed by junior guard Andrea Bailey (Needham, Mass.), who ended the game with 15 points and six rebounds, and Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, N.J.), who finished with nine points and three steals. 

The Beavers came out strong in the first half with an 11-4 run to start the game. The Lyons kept it close and were able to tie it up 18-18 with just over seven minutes left in the half, and a free throw on the next possession by junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, Mass.) gave the Lyons their first lead of the game, 19-18. After the score became tied once again, 24-24, with just under three minutes to play, Wheaton went on a 5-0 run to take the lead at halftime, 29-24.

The Lyons maintained the lead in the second half until the 15-minute mark when the Beavers jumped in front, 34-33. Over the next four minutes, the lead would change hands three before a three-pointer by Hickey put the Lyons up 43-40 with 11 minutes remaining. The Beavers were unable to regain the lead from that point on, as Wheaton eventually built a 10-point lead with nine seconds remaining en route to the 71-61 win.

The Beavers travel to Trinity College on Tuesday, January 13th for a non-conference contest at 5:30 pm. Wheaton will next visit WPI in a NEWMAC game on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.