Women’s Basketball Triumphs at Gordon in Season Finale, 63-57

WENHAM, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball team captured a 63-57 victory at Gordon to wrap up the 2013-14 campaign Saturday.

The Lions close out the season with a 9-16 overall record and a 5-13 mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Fighting Scots drop to 5-20 on the year and 1-16 in league play with the loss.

Nicole Greer (Odenton, Md.) paced the visitors with 19 points and nine rebounds on the afternoon. Ruby Leon (Fairfield, Calif.) chipped in with 14 points, five boards and four assists in the win. Lauren Hevy (North Brookfield, Mass.) finished poured in eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jasmine Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.) hauled in nine boards while Jamie Emerson (Attleboro, Mass.) netted six points.

After Gordon opened the contest with two buckets, Eastern Nazarene responded with six straight points to grab a 6-4 edge four minutes into play.

The Lions stretched their lead to 11-6 with 14:24 on the clock as Greer drained a jump shot.

The Fighting Scots pulled to within one with 9:35 left to play in the half as Lauren Kranyak converted a pair of free throws, 14-13.

The visitors widened the gap to seven with five minutes remaining in the period as Greer banked in a lay-up, 23-16. Eastern Nazarene pushed its advantage to eight with 2:20 to go on a lay-in by Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.).

Both squads chalked up two points in the final minute as the Lions held a 30-22 lead at halftime.

Greer tallied 15 first-half points and four rebounds to lead Eastern Nazarene at the break. Johnson gathered five boards in the opening frame while Emerson, Hevy and Leon all scored three points.

The Lions shot 37.9% from the field in the first period and 22.2% from outside the three-point line. The Fighting Scots connected on 22.2% of their field-goal attempts in the first frame and missed all six attempts from long distance.

Eastern Nazarene claimed its first double-digit lead of the game as Hevy tossed in a put-back lay-up with 18:13 remaining, 33-22.

The Lions used a 7-0 run to establish a 17-point margin with 4:29 on the clock, capped off by Abbie Tonello (Bourne, Mass.) with a lay-up, 57-40.

Gordon answered with 12 consecutive points to cut the deficit to five with 2:34 left to play. Brooke Kratche completed a three-point play at the charity stripe for three of her team-high 22 points on the day to narrow the gap to 57-52.

Eastern Nazarene sank six free throws in the final 33 seconds to secure its third win in a row.

Eastern Nazarene posted a field-goal percentage of 43.4% in the win while shooting 2-for-13 from beyond the arc. Gordon shot 34.4% from the floor while being held to 1-of-12 from three-point range.

The Lions nearly clinched their third-straight berth to the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs, finishing in a tie for eighth-place with Wentworth. The Leopards edged Eastern Nazarene for the eighth and final playoff spot due to a win over Salve Regina earlier in the season.