Torio Tallies 27 Points to Power Women’s Basketball Past Nichols, 81-57

QUINCY, Mass.- Junior Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) drained a season-high seven three-pointers and finished with 27 points to propel the Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team to an 81-57 victory over Nichols Wednesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions improve to 16-8 on the year and 9-8 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Bison fall to 2-22 overall and 2-15 in league action with the loss.

Torio also added eight rebounds and three assists to go with her career-high 27 points. Ashley Rendon (La Puente, Calif.) chipped in with 12 points, five boards, and three assists. BreAnna Fraser (Henderson, Nev.) registered 11 points and four rebounds. Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas) tallied nine points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench while Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) notched nine boards, six points, and six assists on the night.

The home side cruised out to a 15-1 lead 5:16 into the opening quarter, capped off by a trey by Fraser.

The visitors cut the deficit to three with 48 seconds remaining in the first period as Taylor Daniels banked in a layup, 17-14.

Eastern Nazarene responded with a three-pointer by Torio with 31 seconds to go in the frame to push its lead to 20-14 heading into the second quarter.

The Lions reclaimed a double-digit advantage with 6:36 left to play in the second period as Bailee Smith (Plano, Texas) tossed in a put-back layup, 29-19.

The Bison trimmed the margin to four just before the halftime intermission, 37-33.

Eastern Nazarene shot 43.8% from the floor and 38.5% from behind the arc in the first half. Nichols sported a field-goal percentage of 37.9% midway through the contest.

The guests battled back to seize their first lead of the game with 6:26 left to play in the third as Mekaela Giantonio tossed in a layup, 42-41.

The hosts answered with a pair of treys by Torio to regain a five-point edge with 5:16 remaining in the quarter, 47-42.

The Lions pushed their advantage back to double-figures with 1:30 on the clock as Smith knocked down a jumper, 56-46.

Eastern Nazarene carried a 58-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Lions stretched their advantage to 25 points with 2:56 left to play in the fourth as Sam Cary (Keller, Texas) sank two free throws, 77-52.

Eastern Nazarene limited Nichols to just one field goal in the fourth quarter while outscoring the visitors 23-8 in the final 10 minutes.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 44.1% while connecting on 11-of-29 from long distance. The Bison shot 30.2% from the floor in the game and 21.1% from three-point range.

Daniels paced Nichols with 16 points on the night while Brittany Donovan added 13 points.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene wraps up the regular season with a crucial road tilt at Curry February 18.