Nacona’s Triple-Double Lifts Women’s Basketball to Win Over Lesley
QUINCY, Mass.- Junior Nahatabaa Nacona (Chinle, Ariz.) notched a triple-double as the Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team returned to the win-column with a convincing 81-20 victory over Lesley Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.
The Lions improve to 16-2 on the season with the win while maintaining their position atop the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) standings with a 9-1 mark. The Lynx drop to 0-13 on the year and 0-9 in league play with the result.
Nacona is one of just 14 players in NCAA Division III to record a triple-double this season as she finished with 12 assists, 10 points, and 10 rebounds. Sydni Oviatt (Fruit Heights, Utah) poured in a team-high 16 points and added five boards in her first career start. Janeth Cruz (Reseda, Calif.) scored 12 points off the bench while Shannon Chau (San Francisco, Calif.) netted 10 points. Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Second Mesa, Ariz.) posted eight points and five assists.
The home side sprinted out to an 11-2 lead with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter before pushing its advantage to double digits, 15-4, with 3:35 left to play on a fast-break layup by Chau.
Eastern Nazarene owned a 19-6 lead through 10 minutes of action.
The Lions chalked up 25 unanswered points to start the second quarter, extending the margin to 44-6 with 2:34 on the clock.
The hosts outscored the visitors 29-2 in the second period to sport a 48-8 advantage at the midway point of the contest.
At the halftime intermission, Oviatt paced Eastern Nazarene with 11 points while Chau chipped in with 10 points. Nacona notched nine assists, seven rebounds, and six points in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Lions shot 53.7% from the floor in the first half while connecting on 2-of-9 from the perimeter. The Lynx were limited to just 4-for-26 shooting from the field in the opening two quarters.
The home team poured in 21 points while allowing just seven points in the third quarter to boast a 69-15 lead heading into the fourth period.
Eastern Nazarene outscored Lesley 12-5 in the final frame to lock up the wire-to-wire victory.
The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 50.7% while sinking 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. The Lynx shot 13.7% from the floor and 0-for-15 from three-point range on the night.
Dakota Jones paced Lesley with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Up next, Eastern Nazarene hosts Suffolk February 8 in the final non-conference contest of the regular season.