Women’s Basketball Secures 63-54 Win at Salve Regina

NEWPORT, R.I.- Behind a double-double performance by senior Jessica Franco (Phoenix, Ariz.), the Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team notched a 63-54 victory at Salve Regina Thursday evening.

The Lions improve to 8-3 on the season and 2-3 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the win. The Seahawks fall to 2-10 overall and 0-5 in league action with the outcome.

Franco finished with a game-high 16 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) poured in 12 points and dished out five assists. BreAnna Fraser (Henderson, Nev.) registered 11 points, five boards, and three assists while Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) added 10 points.

Salve Regina established a narrow 10-6 advantage after the first quarter. The two teams combined for 12 points from the charity stripe and just two field goals in the opening 10 minutes. Torio registered Eastern Nazarene's lone basket of the period, tossing in a layup early on in the game.

The visitors started the second quarter with a 6-2 spurt to level the score at 12-12 with 7:57 on the clock.

The home side utilized a 10-0 run to stretch its lead to 25-14 with 5:11 to go in the first half.

The Lions trailed 27-19 at the midway point of the contest after connecting on just 6-of-28 field-goal attempts in the opening two quarters.

Eastern Nazarene pulled even then took a 34-31 edge with 5:28 remaining in the third frame on back-to-back treys by Franco.

Holmes and Franco both chalked up 10 points in the third period as the Lions outscored the Seahawks 22-7 to own a 41-34 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The guests widened the gap to 11 points with 5:59 to go, 49-38, on a layup by Sam Cary (Keller, Texas).

Eastern Nazarene drained eight free throws on 10 attempts in the final 1:32 to seal the victory.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 36.8% to go with 26.3% shooting from the perimeter. The Seahawks shot 28.3% from the floor and 27.8% from beyond the arc on the night.

Mary Eden paced Salve Regina with 12 points while Kerri Beland chipped in with 10 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to host Curry January 7.