Worcester, Mass. – Wheaton College scored 11 of the game's first 13 points and never looked back, racing to a convincing 72-54 win over Clark University in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

The win for the visiting Lyons pushes their record to 7-0 overall and a perfect 5-0 in league contests. For the Cougars the defeat is their third in a row and they have now dropped five of their last six games to slip to 3-5 overall and 1-4 against league foes.

Wheaton took control of the contest from the start scoring nine straight points to open the game as Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H.), Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H.) and Kirsten Ferrari (Lynn, Mass.) all connected on three-pointers in the game's first four minutes.

Clark finally got on the scoreboard on an Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.) hoop and after an Olivia Lyons (Belmont, Mass.) rebound and putback, the Cougars were only down 19-12 with a little more than ten minutes gone by.

The two teams then started trading three-pointers as Pierce dropped in two more from behind the arc but those were matched by Brooke Brennan (Weston, Mass.), who nailed two of her own.

Brennan's last three made the score 27-18 but Wheaton answered again with two consecutive hoops from Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y.).

Those two hoops sparked a 16-5 half ending run by the Lyons that saw baskets from Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah), Ferrari and Lauren McClelland (Scituate, Mass.) and a triple from Ferrari as well, sending the visitors into intermission with a 43-23 edge.

Clark got the lead down to 16 at 46-29 following a basket by Reilly and two hoops from Megan Grondin (Cumberland, Maine) but another Lyon scoring spurt – this one a 14-5 burst put the game out of reach. During the run Wheaton saw Arnone make a three-pointer, Ferrari score inside, Pierce get fouled on a three-point attempt and make all three from the charity stripe and Brickley get loose inside for a pair of easy hoops.

The lead ballooned to its peak at 27 when Sarah Fitzgerald (Bath, Maine) found a cutting Emily Romans (Easton, Mass.) for her only hoop of the game, making the score 65-38 with 10:35 remaining.

Esther Cohn (Chapel Hill, N.C.) then attempted to rally the Cougars, scoring nine straight points, including a three-pointer to bring Clark to within 20 at 65-47. The Scarlet and White got as close as 16 on an offensive rebound and putback by Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) but by then the game was well in hand for the Lyons.

Wheaton ran their offense to near perfection, handing out 25 assists on 27 baskets, while shooting 43 percent from the field including a 50 percent clip from behind the arc (9-for-18). They held a 45-43 edge on the glass outscored the Cougars 34-20 in the paint.

Clark, meanwhile, shot a season-low 29 percent from the field (18-for-61) and connected on just six of their 22 three-point attempts.

Pierce was the catalyst for the Lyons, finishing with 15 points – 12 of which came on four first half three-pointers. She also added six rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes of action. Brickley totaled 14 points, Arnone ended with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds and Shoemaker notched her third double-double of the season with ten points and 12 rebounds.

Cohn was the only player for the Cougars in double figures as she finished with her first double-double of the season – 11 points and ten rebounds.

Both Reilly and Brennan chipped in with eight points, while Breeann Redman (Bristol, Conn.) added a career-best seven.

Wheaton is off until Wednesday, December 17 when they visit Manhattanville College, while Clark won't play again Monday, December 30 against Regis College as a part of a holiday tournament hosted by Catholic University.