Norton, Mass. – Behind an offense that connected on 12 three-pointers and had 22 assists on 27 made baskets, Wheaton College handed Clark University a 79-54 loss in the New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball opener for both teams on Wednesday evening.

The 12 made three-pointers were one off of a school-record 13 and reserve guard Kenzie Kuhn came off the bench to make six of them, finishing with a game-high 18 points in just 17 minutes.

Wheaton, which has arguably the best interior combination in the conference in Kiley Shoemaker and Abbie Brickley, did get a combined 18 points and nine rebounds from that duo, but it was their guards who led them to their fifth win in six outings this season.

In the first half, the Lyons built their lead early on with an 11-2 spurt that saw them jump out to a 21-10 edge courtesy of some long range shooting from Laura Pierce. Brooke Brennan (Weston, Mass.) stopped the bleeding for the Cougars with a short jumper but the hosts were at it again, this time running off 13 unanswered to make the score 34-12.

After Brennan's jumper with a little more than ten minutes to go in the period, the Scarlet and White didn't make another basket until an Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) layup with 3:19 left in the half and the score stood at 42-16.

Another 7-2 burst from the Lyons, this one capped by a Sarah Caron triple ballooned the lead to a game-high 31 (49-18) before Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) scored twice in the final minute.

In addition to Kuhn, Pierce totaled 15 points, while Brickley and Shoemaker each added nine.

Clark was led by O'Gara, who ended with 18 points and six assists and Sullivan collected 16 points and six rebounds.

The Cougars (2-4, 0-1 NEWMAC) will return to action on Saturday with a home contest against Smith College at 1:00 p.m.