Women’s Basketball Drops Midweek Game at Gordon, 76-67

WENHAM, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday evening, falling at Gordon 76-67 in the conference-opener.

The Lions move to 4-1 on the season and 0-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the outcome. The Fighting Scots improve to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in league play with the win.

Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) netted 13 points, grabbed five boards, dished out five assists, and added a pair of blocks to lead the visitors. Sam Cary (Keller, Texas) pitched in with nine points and six rebounds off the bench. Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas.) finished with seven points and a team-best 12 boards.

Eastern Nazarene erased an early deficit to capture a 9-8 edge with two minutes remaining in the first quarter as Cary converted two free throws.

The Lions tallied their final nine points of the opening period from the charity stripe, building a 15-10 advantage with 33 seconds on the clock.

Gordon cut the deficit to 15-13 just before the conclusion of the first frame as Olivia Stark sank a three-pointer.

The Fighting Scots used an 11-2 run to grab a 28-22 lead with four minutes left to play in the second quarter.

The hosts outscored the guests 22-9 in the second, including a 7-0 run to cap off the period, to hold a 35-24 advantage at the halftime intermission.

Eastern Nazarene opened the third with a 10-0 spurt to narrow the gap to 35-34 four minutes into the second half.

The Lions reclaimed a one-point edge with 4:57 to go in the quarter as Ashley Rendon (La Puente, Calif.) tossed in a layup, 38-37.

Over the final 4:05 of the third stanza, the Fighting Scots narrowly outscored Eastern Nazarene 14-11 to cling to a 51-49 lead heading into the fourth.

Gordon strung together a 7-0 run to start the fourth frame and widen the margin to 58-49 with 8:39 remaining. The Fighting Scots never relinquished the lead en route to locking up their first conference victory.

Stark finished with 24 points on the night for Gordon while Sarah Gibbs registered a double-double with 12 points and 15 boards.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 29.7% on the night while draining 2-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc. The Fighting Scots shot 46.7% from the floor and 44.4% from the perimeter in the contest.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene returns home to battle Endicott December 3.