No. 5 Women’s Basketball Downed by Top-Seeded UNE in CCC Semifinals, 75-59

BIDDEFORD, Maine- The fifth-seeded Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team suffered a 75-59 setback at the University of New England, the No. 1 seed in the tournament and No. 11 ranked team in the NCAA Northeast Regional poll, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals Thursday evening.

The Lions finish the season with an 18-9 overall record while the Nor'easters improve to 22-5 on the year.

Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) poured in 22 points to lead the squad while adding four boards. BreAnna Fraser (Henderson, Nev.) registered 12 points while Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) netted eight points.

The hosts opened the contest with five consecutive points before the visitors tied the game at 7-7 on a three-pointer by Holmes with 6:15 left to play in the first quarter.

Eastern Nazarene established a seven-point gap with 3:36 to go in the opening period, 17-10.

The Lions controlled a narrow 20-18 advantage after one quarter of action.

After the University of New England pulled even at 24-24, Eastern Nazarene responded with a three-pointer by Fraser to reclaim a 27-24 edge with 4:32 remaining in the second period.

The Nor'easters snagged a one-point edge with 2:40 left to play in the second quarter on a basket by Alicia Brown, 30-29.

The Lions narrowly trailed at the midway point of the game, 32-31.

Eastern Nazarene shot 35.4% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc in the first half. The University of New England owned a field-goal percentage of 36.8% at the break to go with just 2-for-8 shooting from long distance.

The home team widened the gap to 43-35 with 6:32 remaining in the third on jumper by Sam MacDonald.

The Nor'easters pushed their advantage to double-digits, 49-38, on a pair of free throws by Ashley Coneys with 3:31 left to play in the third quarter.

The Lions headed into the fourth quarter down by nine, 53-44.

The University of New England extended its advantage to 17 on a layup by Lindsey Howland with 4:03 to go in regulation, 70-53.

Despite Eastern Nazarene outscoring the hosts 6-5 in the final four minutes, the Nor'easters picked up their 16th-straight win and booked a trip to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament finals for the 12th year in a row.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 35.6% to go with 33.3% shooting from the perimeter. The University of New England shot 40.8% from the floor and 28.6% from three-point distance on the night.

Brown scored a game-high 33 points and collected 10 rebounds to lead the Nor'easters.