Women’s Basketball Collects 71-46 Victory at Nichols

DUDLEY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team pulled away late to post a 71-46 win at Nichols Tuesday evening.

The Lions improve to 12-12 on the season and 6-11 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the victory. The Bison fall to 3-21 overall and 1-16 in league play with the result.

Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) poured in 23 points to lead all scorers and racked up four steals. Alyssa Cosio Murillo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) netted 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Scottsdale, Ariz.) recorded 12 points, nine assists, and six boards. Emma Farrow (Blanchester, Ohio) notched a season-high eight points off the bench while Michelle Detwiler (Elkhart, Ind.) added eight rebounds and six points.

After the home side opened the game with a quick 7-2 spurt, the visitors jumped ahead 14-9 on a layup and free throw by Torio with 4:27 left to play in the first quarter.

Nichols battled back to grab a one-point edge, 20-19, after 10 minutes of action.

Eastern Nazarene outscored the Bison 10-6 in the second quarter, including a 4-0 run to close out the period to own a 29-26 halftime advantage.

The Lions shot 40.7% from the floor and connected on 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first half. Nichols sported a field-goal percentage of 25.7% at the break to go with 31.6% shooting from three-point range.

Torio tallied 10 points in the first half to lead the guests while Cosio Murillo chipped in with eight points.

Eastern Nazarene widened the gap to 40-35 with 3:10 to go in the third on a pair of free throws by Torio.

Nichols responded with five unanswered points to level the score at 40-40 with 1:59 left to play in the third quarter.

The Lions sported a 46-40 edge heading into the fourth frame after Torio and Sekaquaptewa each splashed a trey in the final 1:38 of the third period.

Eastern Nazarene stretched its lead to double-digits on Torio's third three-pointer of the game with 7:55 on the clock, 54-43.

The visitors erupted for 25 fourth-quarter points while limiting the Bison to just six points to cement their 12th win of the season and move into a tie for seventh in the conference standings.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 47.1% while draining 30% of their three-point attempts. The Bison shot 27% from the floor and 28.6% from behind the arc on the night.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene wraps up the regular season at Curry February 17.