Top-Seeded Women’s Basketball Battles #2 Seed New England College in NECC Title Game Saturday

QUINCY, Mass.- After claiming the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular-season title outright, the Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team will square off against second-seeded New England College in the NECC Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon.

BASICS:
Date: 2/29/20
Location: Lahue Physical Education Center | Quincy, Mass.
Time: 2:00 PM
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HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Eastern Nazarene finished the regular season with a 13-1 mark in the New England Collegiate Conference to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NECC Tournament and sports a 21-3 overall record after topping Becker in the NECC semifinals Thursday evening. New England College, the defending NECC champions, claimed the No. 2 seed with a 12-2 league record and owns a 20-6 record on the year after defeating third-seeded Mitchell 79-75 in the semifinals.

POSTSEASON HISTORY:
Eastern Nazarene is making its sixth-straight playoff appearance, having qualified for the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament four-consecutive seasons before reaching NECC Tournament semifinals last year. The Lions will be making the program's third conference championship game appearance and will be vying for their first conference title since 1999-2000. Eastern Nazarene boast an all-time postseason record of 11-16.

RIVALRY RENEWED - ENC VS. NEC ALL-TIME SERIES:
The two former Commonwealth Coast Conference foes have met on the hardwood 36 previous times with Eastern Nazarene holding a narrow 19-17 edge in the all-time series. The Lions downed the Pilgrims in both regular-season matchups this year.

MAGIC NUMBER 20:
Eastern Nazarene's 20 wins on the year are the most since the legendary 1999-2000 campaign, 20 years ago.

DEFEND THE DEN:
Eastern Nazarene boasts a 12-1 record at home this season, including a 7-0 mark in conference play at the Lahue Physical Education Center. The Lions own a 45-16 combined record at home in the last five seasons.

SHOOTERS SHOOT:
Sophomore Stevie Orton (Gilford, N.H.) ranks third in the conference with a field-goal percentage of 51.1% on the year. Senior Kyra Fleharty (Lewistown, Mont.) ranks second in the league in three-point shooting accuracy with a 36.5% clip from behind the arc. Junior Morgan Vurek (Daly City, Calif.) ranks sixth in the NECC with a 34% shooting percentage from the perimeter this season.

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES:
Sophomore Stevie Orton (Gilford, N.H.) was named the NECC Player of the Year, joining Melissa Christmas ('00) as the only players in program history to earn the award. Senior Jenn Burnham (West Valley City, Utah) claimed Eastern Nazarene's second-straight NECC Defensive Player of the Year nod after Shannon Chau (San Francisco, Calif.) became the first player in program history to receive the accolade last year. Head coach Sacha Santimano was voted the NECC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. Senior Kyra Fleharty (Lewistown, Mont.) and Orton were both tabbed to the All-NECC first team while Burnham collected All-NECC second team honors. Junior Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Second Mesa, Ariz.) earned a spot on the NECC Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team.

"DONAT3" INITIATIVE:
This season, the Eastern Nazarene women's basketball program launched its "DONAT3" initiative to help raise funds, awareness, and collect goods for three organizations that empower and educate women and children. The three organizations are DoVE, OneVOICE, and The Dianne Devanna Center. The Lions have pledged money to these organizations based on the number of three-pointers they make in games. Eastern Nazarene has splashed 152 treys so far this season and has pledged over $2,000.