Women’s Basketball Suffers 77-55 Setback to University of New England

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team dropped a 77-55 decision to league-leading University of New England Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions move to 6-11 on the season and 5-6 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the loss. The Nor'easters improve to 15-4 overall and 11-1 in league games with the win.

Mhiah Vickers (Westlake Village, Calif.) paced the home side with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Nicole Greer (Odenton, Md.) netted 12 points and grabbed seven boards. Courtney Houston (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Jasmine Mata (Santa Barbara, Calif.) each finished with 10 points and three rebounds.

Eastern Nazarene grabbed a three-point lead early in the contest as Houston knocked down a jumper 4:15 into the game, 9-6.

After the guests leveled the score at 14-14, the Lions chalked up two consecutive buckets to claim an 18-14 edge with 9:16 remaining.

The University of New England battled back to gain a four-point lead with 3:36 left to play in the half as Brooke Flaherty converted a pair of free throws, 27-23.

Eastern Nazarene reclaimed a one-point margin with 1:44 on the clock on a three-pointer by Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.), 30-29.

The Lions extended their advantage to three points with less than a minute remaining as Houston connected on a jumper. The Nor'easters responded with a layup by Sam MacDonald with 10 seconds to go to cut the halftime score to 35-34 in favor of the home team.

Houston led Eastern Nazarene at halftime with 10 points while Mata chipped in with eight points.

The Lions sank 51.9% of their field-goal attempts in the first half, including 2-of-6 from long range. The Nor'easters shot 41.4% in the opening frame despite draining just one trey on 10 attempts.

The University of New England strung together an 18-2 run to seize a 59-43 lead with 9:34 on the clock.

The visitors stretched the gap to 22 points with 2:18 to go as Alicia Brown sank a pair of free throws, 76-54.

The Lions shot 39% from the floor on the day while connecting on 16.7% of their three-point efforts. The Nor'easters posted a field-goal percentage of 48.3% to go with 21.4% shooting from the perimeter.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will host Roger Williams February 3.