Women’s Basketball Falls to Becker, 45-43, on Late Bucket

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team suffered a 45-43 loss to Becker Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions move to 9-3 on the season and 4-1 in the New England Collegiate Conference with the setback. The Hawks improve to 7-5 overall and 4-1 in league competition with the win.

Kyra Fleharty (Lewistown, Mont.) notched her second double-double of the year with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the squad. Courtney Barba (Pismo Beach, Calif.) finished with 13 points. Shannon Chau (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded six points, seven boards, and three assists on the night.

After conceding the first bucket, the home team scored eight straight points to build an 8-3 lead with 3:23 left to play in the first quarter.

The visitors closed out the period with five unanswered points to level the score at 8-8 through 10 minutes of action.

Becker claimed a four-point edge midway through the second frame on a layup by Adrianna Dowdy, 15-11.

Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit to 17-16 as Barba splashed a trey from the left corner with 3:38 remaining in the first half.

The Lions trailed the Hawks by three at the break, 23-20.

Eastern Nazarene managed a field-goal percentage of 24.1% in the first two quarters while connecting on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Becker shot 32% from the floor in the opening half and 33.3% from three-point range.

After a pair of ties in the opening two minutes of the third quarter, the Lions jumped ahead 29-27 with 5:06 remaining in the period on a three-ball by Chau.

The two teams headed into the fourth frame even at 32-32 as Eastern Nazarene outscored Becker 12-9 in the third.

Baskets by Fleharty and Jenn Burnham (West Valley City, Utah) over three minutes apart pushed the home side ahead 40-36 with 4:13 remaining in regulation.

The Lions extended their advantage to 43-38 with 3:42 to go as Barba drilled her third trey of the game.

The Hawks trimmed the deficit to three on a layup by Jazlzyn Contreras before a pair of free throws pulled the visitors to within a point, 43-42, with 1:23 on the clock.

Becker seized a late 45-43 edge with under two seconds left to play as Cassidy Harrison knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner. Harrison's shot would prove to be the game-winning bucket as the Hawks escaped with the narrow victory.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 25.4% with a three-point percentage of 30.4%. Becker shot 34.9% from the floor and 30.8% from downtown on the night.

Harrison led the guests with 14 points while Sarah Ware added 11 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene travels to Southern Vermont January 10.