Women’s Basketball Prevails 69-58 over Wheelock in Season-Opener

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team collected a 69-58 victory over Wheelock in the first game of the 2016-17 campaign Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions jump to 1-0 on the year with the result while the Wildcats sink to 0-1 overall.

Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas) paced the home team with 13 points while adding four steals, three assists and three rebounds on the night. Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) poured in 12 points, grabbed six boards and dished out four assists in the win. Jessica Franco (Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied 12 points and gathered seven rebounds.

"We have a lot of growing to do but with so many new players, we have to focus on one practice and one game at a time," head coach Sacha Santimano said. "The energy and hustle were there tonight. We can build upon this moving forward."

Back-to-back layups by Cooper and Torio gave Eastern Nazarene an early five-point lead midway through the first quarter, 11-6.

Wheelock clawed back to within a point, 11-10, before Torio and Jacquelin Arretche (Los Banos, Calif.) each drained a three-pointer to widen the gap to 17-10 with 2:16 left to play in the period.

The Lions clung to an 18-14 edge after the first quarter.

The hosts stretched their advantage to 12 with 4:13 remaining in the first half as Ashely Rendon tossed in a fast-break layup, 32-20.

Eastern Nazarene held a 41-29 lead at the half while also owning a field-goal percentage of 41%. The Wildcats shot 33.3% from the floor in the opening two quarters of action.

The Lions boasted a 13-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter after narrowly outscoring the visitors 15-14 in the third frame.

Wheelock cut the deficit to 10 with 6:29 to go in regulation as Katie Walsh converted two of her 19 free throw attempts, 58-48.

The home side responded with a layup by Cooper to push the lead to 60-48 with 5:42 left to play.

Both teams tallied eight points in the final three minutes of the contest as Eastern Nazarene locked up a season-opening win.

The Lions connected on 35.3% of their field-goal attempts in the game and drained 5-of-18 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats were limited to 27.3% shooting from the floor, including 0-for-7 from three-point range.

Walsh led Wheelock with a double-double, pouring in a game-high 21 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a non-conference clash at Lesley November 17.