Women’s Basketball Absorbs First League Loss at Wentworth

BOSTON, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball team suffered its first loss in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Saturday afternoon, falling on the road at Wentworth 52-46.

The Lions slip to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in league contests with the setback. The Leopards improve to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in the conference with the win.

Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) and Presley Neufeld (Seattle, Wash.) led the way with nine points each. Brown pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds in the game and Neufeld dished out four assists. Mel Green (Annapolis, Md.) added eight points and four boards off the bench. Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) chipped in with six points while Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) tallied five on the afternoon.  

Wentworth opened the contest with six straight points before Eastern Nazarene got on the board with 14:42 remaining in the first period as Tyshay Montgomery (Woodlawn, Md.) sank a free throw.

The Leopards poured in six unanswered points to grab a 13-3 advantage with nine minute left to play in the opening half.

Neufeld drained a jump shot in the final minute of the half to cut the deficit to nine points.

The Lions went into the intermission trailing by nine, 22-13, after shooting just 22% from the field.

Carradine led the visitors with four first-half points while Brown grabbed four boards.

Less than three minutes into the second stanza, Eastern Nazarene closed the gap to three points, 26-23.

With 11:20 on the clock, Grays nailed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two points, 32-30.

After a pair of free throws by Brown pulled the Lions to within two, Wentworth answered with a field goal to reclaim a four-point lead, 39-35, with 3:15 left to play.

Green drained a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 1:46 remaining in regulation to bring Eastern Nazarene within striking distance, 39-37.

On the ensuing trip down the court, the Lions came up with a defensive stop as Jasmin Rodriguez (Milford, Conn.) blocked a jumper before Brown was fouled and sent to the free throw line to shoot two. The senior converted the second attempt to close the gap to one, 39-38.

The hosts connected on 13-of-14 chances from the free throw line in the final 1:26 to secure their first conference win of the year.

The Lions finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 25% while shooting 13% from beyond the arc.

Eastern Nazarene returns home to square off against Pine Manor December 3 in a non-conference tilt at 6 pm.