Women’s Basketball Knocks Off Nichols for Fifth Win in a Row, 55-50

DUDLEY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team ran its winning-streak to five consecutive games Tuesday evening, edging Nichols on the road 55-50.

The Lions improve to 11-12 on the year and 9-7 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference to keep pressing for a top-four seed in the CCC Tournament. The Bison progress to 6-18 overall and 3-14 in league action.

Elia Salazar (Los Angeles, Calif.) posted a double-double with a game-best 18 points while adding 11 rebounds. Mhiah Vickers (Westlake Village, Calif.) notched a double-double for the fourth-straight contest, finishing with 14 points and 12 boards to go with four blocks and four steals. Nicole Greer (Odenton, Md.) contributed with 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

After trading buckets, Eastern Nazarene netted six consecutive points to grab a 16-10 lead with 9:13 remaining.

The Lions extended their advantage to double-digits with 4:16 to go in the half as Salazar tossed in a layup.

Nichols bounced back with six straight points before Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) capped off the first half of action with a layup to send the visitors into the break leading by 10, 29-19.

Salazar and Vickers each scored a team-high eight points in the first frame while Greer added six. Vickers also paced Eastern Nazarene with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Lions shot 48.3% from the floor and sank one three-pointer on four attempts. The Bison connected on 23.5% of their field-goal attempts in the first frame while coming up empty on their five tries from behind the arc.

Nichols cut the deficit to three points with 12:36 on the clock as Brooke Packard knocked down a jumper, 35-32.

Eastern Nazarene reestablished a seven-point edge on a free throw by Vickers with 9:25 remaining, 41-34.

The home side chipped the margin to one with under four minutes to go in regulation as Packard drained a jump shot from just inside the arc, 49-48.

The guests went 4-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes of play to close out the victory.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 38.9% while draining 28.6% of their attempts from long distance. The Bison were limited to 29.6% shooting on the night and misfired on all nine three-point efforts.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene seeks its sixth-straight victory as it travels to take on Endicott in a pivotal matchup February 19.