Women’s Basketball Edges Johnson & Wales, 57-53

PROVIDENCE, R.I.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball team fended off a late push by Johnson and Wales to capture a 57-53 win Tuesday evening in a non-conference bout. The result elevates the Lions to 3-1 on the season while the Wildcats dip to 1-1 overall.

Senior Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) led the visitors with 12 points and nine rebounds. Junior Abbie Tonello (Bourne, Mass.) finished with 11 points and nine boards while senior Mel Green (Annapolis, Md.) added 10 points and nine rebounds. Junior Presley Neufeld (Seattle, Wash.) also contributed 10 points, six assists and a pair of steals.

The Wildcats scored the first bucket of the game after 1:58 of play but Eastern Nazarene responded with a three-pointer by Green to grab a 3-2 edge.

Johnson and Wales went on a 5-0 run to jump ahead by four, 7-3, with 16:52 left to play in the first half.

The visitors knotted the contest at 10-10 with 14:14 showing on the clock as Brown knocked down a jumper. The hosts tallied seven unanswered points to own a 17-10 lead before the Lions scored 10 consecutive points to take a 20-17 advantage with six minutes remaining in the opening frame.

Eastern Nazarene maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the first half and held a 27-24 edge at halftime.

Brown and Neufeld each netted six points in the first period while Green chipped in with five. Rookie Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Tonello led the Lions on the boards in the opening 20 minutes as each player pulled down four rebounds.

The visiting side shot 39% in the first half while the Wildcats connected on 28% from the floor.

Eastern Nazarene stretched the gap to nine points, 41-32, as Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) converted a free throw to complete a four-point play as she drained a trey and was fouled in the process with 14:26 left to go in the game.

Johnson and Wales cut the deficit to one, 41-40, with 11:28 on the clock as Marina Millian sank a pair of free throws.

A lay-up by Green helped the Lions answer with six-straight points to extend the margin to seven, 47-40.

The Wildcats pulled to within one point with a minute left to play in regulation as Samantha Hendrick nailed a pair of free throws.

Grays sank a pair of shots from the charity stripe and Neufeld buried one in the final minute of action to seal the Eastern Nazarene's third victory of the 2012-13 campaign.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 35.5% while draining 40% of their long-range attempts. The Wildcats were held to 31.7% shooting from the field and 25% from three-point distance.

Eastern Nazarene returns to action November 28 as it hosts Roger Williams in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both squads.