Oviatt’s Double-Double Leads Women’s Basketball Past Pine Manor
QUINCY, Mass.- Sophomore Sydni Oviatt (Fruit Heights, Utah) notched her first career double-double as the Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team captured its 13th-consecutive victory Saturday afternoon with a 75-47 win over Pine Manor at the Lahue Physical Education Center.
The Lions climb to 14-1 on the year with the victory while the Gators slide to 4-9 overall.
Oviatt finished with 13 points and a career-best 11 boards off the bench. Kyra Fleharty (Lewistown, Mont.) poured in a game-high 15 points and grabbed four rebounds. Stevie Orton (Gilford, N.H.) netted 10 points and collected four boards. Bailey Craig (Placerville, Calif.) registered nine points while Jenn Burnham (West Valley City, Utah) recorded eight rebounds, four points, and four assists.
The home side quickly gained a nine-point lead with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter, 13-4, on a pair of free throws by Janeth Cruz (Reseda, Calif.).
Baskets by Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Second Mesa, Ariz.) and Oviatt pushed Eastern Nazarene's advantage to 22-10 at the end of the opening period.
The Lions stretched the margin to 19 points with 3:12 to go in the second frame, 34-15, as Fleharty drilled a trey.
The visitors closed out the second quarter with an 8-2 run to cut the hosts' halftime lead to 36-23.
Eastern Nazarene shot 46.7% from the floor and 33.3% from three-point range in the first half. Pine Manor posted a field-goal percentage of 23.5% in the opening two quarters while connecting on 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Fleharty paced the Lions with 11 first-half points while Craig chipped in with seven points off the bench.
The Gators pulled to within 10 points, 38-28, on a three-pointer by Ladaeja Robinson two minutes into the third quarter.
The Lions responded with six consecutive points to widen the gap to 16 with 6:29 left to play in the third, 44-28.
The home team chalked up the final nine points of the third period to boast a 57-33 advantage heading into the final frame.
Eastern Nazarene seized its biggest lead of the contest with 1:50 remaining in regulation on a layup by Oviatt, 73-43.
The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 49.2% on the day to go with 6-for-9 shooting from long distance. The Gators shot 26.7% from the floor and 17.4% from behind the arc in the game.
Robinson paced Pine Manor with 12 points and six rebounds while Nandi Eskridge added 11 points.
Up next, Eastern Nazarene resumes conference play January 29 at home against Dean.