Stingy Defense Leads Women’s Basketball to 68-38 Win Over Nichols

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team stretched its winning-streak to five games with a 68-38 victory over Nichols Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions jump to 9-4 on the season and 4-2 in Commonwealth Coast Conference contests. The Bison slide to 1-11 overall and 0-5 in the league with the loss.

Jasmine Mata (Santa Barbara, Calif.) paced the home team with 12 points on the day. Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas) finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Celina Calderon (Lompoc, Calif.) netted 10 points off the bench and racked up four steals. Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) registered seven boards and six assists to go with three points. Elia Salazar (Los Angeles, Calif.) hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds and poured in six points.

Eastern Nazarene opened the game with seven consecutive points, capped off by a jumper by Cooper with 6:49 to go in the first period.

The Lions boasted a five-point advantage heading into the second quarter, 16-11.

The hosts widened its gap to 10 just two minutes into the second frame on a triple by Calderon, 21-11.

Nichols got its first points of the period with 3:42 to go as Allison Cerrato converted a pair of free throws.

Eastern Nazarene carried a 28-15 lead into the break after holding the visitors to just four points from the charity stripe in the second quarter.

Eastern Nazarene shot 36.7% from the floor and 14.3% from long range through two quarters of play. Nichols was limited to 15.4% shooting in the first half while connecting on 2-of-5 attempts from the perimeter.

Cooper paced the Lions at intermission with seven points while Mata chipped in with six points and Salazar gathered nine rebounds.

The home side increased its lead to 19 points with 7:34 remaining in the third stanza on a bucket by Mata, 34-15.

The Bison sliced the margin to 12 as Taylor Daniels sank a free throw with three minutes left to play in the period, 40-28.

The Lions boasted a 47-32 advantage entering the fourth frame after edging the visitors in third-quarter scoring by two points, 19-17.

Eastern Nazarene maintained its sizeable lead throughout the final 10 minutes of play to log its fourth conference win of the season.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 47.2% in the game while draining three treys on 12 attempts. The Bison shot 25% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc.

The hosts owned a commanding 57-26 margin in rebounding on the afternoon.

Jessica Kelliher led Nichols with eight points while Daniels added seven.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene seeks its sixth win in a row with a tough matchup at the University of New England.