NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's basketball team earned a decisive 70-30 victory over Lesley University in the first round of the Cheryl Warren-Powers '95 Memorial Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Emerson Gymnasium.

For Lesley, freshman guard Shannon Baker (Lynnbrook, N.Y./Lynnbrook) notched a team-high eight points going 3-of-8 from the field and 2-for-6 from beyond the arc. Classmate Alina Donato(Newton, Mass./Landmark) chipped in with seven points shooting 3-of-5 from the field and a perfect 1-for-1 from long distance. Freshman guard Ari Dimou (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) brought down a team-leading five rebounds, two points and one steal.

Senior guard Gabby Barbera (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) led a bevy of Lyons scorers with a game-high ten points (5-of-7 from the field) alongside one rebound, one assist, one block and one steal. Junior Sarah Fitzgerald (Bath, Maine/Morse) added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, one rebound and two blocks.

Sophomore guard Kirsten Ferrari (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's) compiled a game-high seven rebounds including two on the offensive glass.

Wheaton shot 48.2-percent from the field in the contest and 71.4-percent from the free throw line. The Lyons distributed their offense among several players on the afternoon outscoring the Lynx, 42-15, in bench points while outrebounding the opposition, 39-30. Wheaton also posted a 26-3 margin in points off of turnovers.

The Lyons jumped out to a 17-3 lead over the first ten minutes of action and never trailed from that point on. Freshman guard Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) and Fitzgerald highlighted the offensive charge with four points each during that stretch. Sophomore guard Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) canned the Lyons only three pointer at the 17:42 mark of the game for an early 5-0 gap from the left wing. Pierce finished with five points, one rebound and three assists in 12 minutes of play.

Wheaton's largest lead came in the second half when freshman forward Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetville, N.Y./Fayettville-Manlius) put the hosts up by 46 points with a layup at 2:38. The freshman forward had seven points, six rebounds (two offensive), one assist and one block.

Wheaton (1-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) takes on SUNY Oneonta tomorrow in the championship round at Emerson Gymnasium at 3 p.m. Lesley (0-2, 0-0 NECC) will take on New Jersey City in the consolation round at 1 p.m.

Release courtesy of Wheaton College Sports Information