Women’s Basketball Edged at UNE, 78-68

BIDDEFORD, Maine- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team dropped a 78-68 decision at the University of New England Saturday afternoon.

The Lions progress to 15-8 on the season and 8-8 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Nor'easters improve to 18-5 overall and 14-2 in league competition.

Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas) poured in a team-high 19 points off the bench and grabbed three boards. BreAnna Fraser (Henderson, Nev.) recorded 15 points and six rebounds while Jacquelin Arretche (Los Banos, Calif.) also tallied 15 points on the day. Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) collected a game-best 12 rebounds while netting eight points.

The home side grabbed an early nine-point advantage on a layup by Olivia Shaw with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter, 12-5.

The visitors claimed their first lead of the game with 2:51 left to play in the opening period as Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) banked in a layup, 17-16.

The University of New England closed out the first frame on a 9-2 run to sport a 25-19 lead after 10 minutes of action.

The Nor'easters widened the gap to 14 with 3:35 to go in the second quarter, 37-23, on a basket by Lindsey Howland.

The Lions cut the deficit to 39-32 at the half as they ended the second period with a 9-2 run.

Eastern Nazarene fell behind by 18 points late in the third but battled back to chalk up the final four points of the quarter to trail 62-48 going into the fourth frame.

Despite the guests holding a 20-16 edge in fourth-quarter points, the hosts locked up their 12th consecutive victory.

The Lions shot 42.4% from the floor and 37.5% from beyond the arc in the contest. The Nor'easters finished with a field-goal percentage of 43.8% to go with 5-for-9 shooting from the perimeter.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to host Nichols February 15 in the final home game of the regular season.