Women’s Basketball Triumphs at Southern Vermont 76-49

BENNINGTON, Vt.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team earned a 76-49 wire-to-wire victory in the program's first-ever trip to Southern Vermont Thursday evening.

The Lions improve to 10-3 on the year and 4-1 in the New England Collegiate Conference with the win. The Mountaineers tumble to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in league action with the result.

Kyra Fleharty (Lewistown, Mont.) tallied a game-best 19 points and grabbed five rebounds. Stella Dulay (Santa Maria, Calif.) poured in 17 points off the bench on 6-for-6 shooting, including a 3-for-3 effort from behind the arc. Tia Torio notched 13 points, five boards, and four assists in the contest.

The guests quickly constructed a 12-point lead early in the contest with a 9-0 run, 14-2.

A pair of three-pointers and a layup by Dulay in the final three minutes of the frame capped off a stellar first quarter of action as Eastern Nazarene owned a 24-8 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

The home team cut the deficit to 28-19 with four minutes remaining in the second period with a 9-0 run.

The Lions sported a 37-26 lead at the halftime intermission.

Eastern Nazarene shot 39.4% from the floor and 33.3% from three-point range in the first half. Southern Vermont posted a field-goal percentage of 37% in the opening two quarters and was limited to 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Fleharty poured in 17 first-half points to lead the visitors while Dulay added eight points.

The Lions netted the first eight points of the third quarter to widen the gap to 45-26.

Eastern Nazarene extended its advantage to 60-36 heading into the final frame after a free throw by Alyssa Cosio (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and a layup by Dulay in the waning seconds of the third stanza.

The guests' lead swelled to 33 points with 4:45 remaining in regulation as Jazmine Sudler (Carrollton, Texas) splashed a trey, 69-36.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 40.9% while draining 7-of-21 from long range en route to capturing their 10th victory of the season. The Mountaineers shot 30.2% from the floor and just 11.8% from three-point distance on the night.

Maddy Main led Southern Vermont with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Di Smith added 11 points and Ahmyria Simmons chipped in with 10.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to host Lesley January 12.