Women’s Basketball Outlasts Western New England 72-68, Earns Fourth-Straight Victory

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team extended its winning-streak to four games for the first time since 2009-10 with a 72-68 victory over Western New England Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions rise to 10-12 on the season and 8-7 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Golden Bears slip to 14-9 overall and 9-7 in league action with the loss.

Jasmine Mata (Santa Barbara, Calif.) led all scorers with 21 points in the game. Nicole Greer (Odenton, Md.) chipped in with 17 points and seven boards off the bench. Mhiah Vickers (Westlake Village, Calif.) posted her third-consecutive double-double as she notched 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The home team scored seven straight points to capture a 14-7 lead with 14:43 left to play in the half.

The guests narrowed the margin to 17-15 on a jumper by Dorothy O'Neill with 11 minutes remaining.

Eastern Nazarene widened the gap to 11 points after a 9-0 run with 8:12 on the clock, capped off by a basket by Vickers, 26-15.

Western New England pulled to within two with 3:23 left to play as Sammie Olson sank the second of two free throws, 29-27.

Courtney Houston (Santa Barbara, Calif.) drained two shots from the charity stripe with three seconds to go in the half as the hosts closed out the first period on a 13-3 run and sported a 12-point advantage at intermission, 42-30.

Greer paced the Lions at halftime with 10 points while Vickers added eight points and Mata tallied six points.

Eastern Nazarene shot 51.6% from the field in the first frame to go with 2-of-5 shooting from long distance. Western New England was limited to 26.7% shooting from the floor in the opening frame while connecting on just one three-pointer on five tries.

The Golden Bears scored five unanswered points to cut the lead to 67-66 with 2:39 remaining as Samantha McCann banked in a layup before connecting on a triple.

The Lions answered with a jumper by Greer with 2:14 on the clock to reclaim a 69-66 edge.

Paige Young tossed up a lay-in to cut Western New England's deficit to one with 1:22 left to play, 69-68.

On Eastern Nazarene's ensuing possession, Greer's baseline-jumper benefitted from a fortuitous bounce and fell in the net to push the hosts' lead back to three points, 72-68.

Greer chalked up her fifth consecutive point for the Lions on a free throw with nine seconds on the clock to seal Eastern Nazarene's fourth win in a row.

The Lions posted a field-goal percentage of 44.1% on the day to go with 31.3% shooting from beyond the arc. The Golden Bears shot 34.5% from the floor and 40% from three-point range in the contest.

McCann paced Western New England with 16 points while O'Neill contributed with 14 points.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene seeks its fifth-straight victory with a crucial tilt at Nichols February 17.