Women’s Basketball Collects 61-51 Win at Nichols Saturday

DUDLEY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 61-51 victory at Nichols Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Lions improve to 14-11 and 9-9 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Eastern Nazarene will learn its playoff seeding Saturday evening at the conclusion of league play.

The Bison fall to 3-21 overall with the result and 2-16 in conference action.

BreAnna Fraser (Henderson, Nev.) led the way with 15 points while Jasmine Mata (Santa Barbara, Calif.) tallied 10 points. Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) finished with eight points, nine rebounds and six assists. Krystal Holl (Smithsburg, Md.) notched seven points, seven boards and three assists in the win.

The visitors grabbed a six-point lead with 3:53 left to play in the first quarter as Kristina Kaczmarek (Chatsworth, Calif.) sank a pair of free throws, 9-3.

The home team narrowed the deficit to one on a basket by Taylor Daniels, 9-8, with 2:05 remaining in the opening period.

Eastern Nazarene hung onto a three-point edge heading into the second frame, 14-11.

Nichols seized the lead with 6:57 to go in the second stanza as Chelsey Mahoney banked in a layup, 17-16.

The Lions poured in eight unanswered points to reclaim a five-point advantage with 1:55 left in the first half, 24-19.

Eastern Nazarene carried a 28-21 lead into the halftime intermission.

The Lions shot 32.1% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while limiting the Bison to a field-goal percentage of 25.8%.

The guests stretched the margin to 11 points after back-to-back layups to start the third frame, 32-21.

Nichols cut the gap to 34-30 with 3:45 to go in the third quarter as Amy Assad tossed in a layup.

Eastern Nazarene halted the Bison's 7-0 run with 1:54 remaining on a layup by Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas), pushing the lead to 36-30.

The Lions controlled a 36-32 advantage after three periods of action. 

The hosts pulled to within two points, 45-43, with 4:24 left to play on a layup by Daniels.

The guests responded with a put-back layup by Fraser with 4:02 to go to extend the lead to four, 47-43. 

Nichols leveled the game at 47-47 with 2:59 left to play on a layup by Assad.

Eastern Nazarene answered with a three-pointer by Fraser to jump ahead 50-47. A free throw by Elia Salazar (Los Angeles, Calif.) and a layup by Fraser increased the Lions' advantage to six, 53-47, with two minutes remaining in regulation.

The Lions canned eight foul shots in the final minute to lock up their 14th victory of the season.

Eastern Nazarene shot 30.2% from the field on the day, including 33.3% from beyond the arc. Nichols finished with a field-goal percentage of 32.1% in the contest while connecting on 33.3% of its attempts from long distance.

Up next, the Lions will be on the road for the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals February 23.