Women’s Basketball Picks Up 67-55 Win Over Pine Manor

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball team defeated Pine Manor 67-55 in non-conference action Monday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center. The Lions jump to 5-2 overall while the Gators sink to 2-3 on the year with the result.

Senior Mel Green (Annapolis, Md.) led the way with a double-double as she recorded 13 points and 12 boards. Classmate Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) also registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Presley Neufeld (Seattle, Wash.) contributed with eight points, seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists. Rookie Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.) poured in a career-high 12 points off the bench. Senior Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) chipped in with nine points for the hosts.

Eastern Nazarene claimed an early 7-4 lead before Pine Manor rallied to grab a 10-9 edge. The Lions recaptured the lead with 14:22 remaining as Green banked in a lay-up, 13-12.

The Gators once again battled back to tie the score at 26-26 as Sybil Lynch drained a three-pointer from the left wing.

The home team responded with six unanswered points to move ahead 32-26 with 4:37 left to play in the first half.

A lay-in by Tyshay Montgomery (Woodlawn, Md.) with 1:26 on the clock gave Eastern Nazarene its largest lead of the opening stanza, 36-28.

At the half, Eastern Nazarene held onto a seven-point advantage, 38-31.

Saint-Pierre paced all scorers with 12 points through the opening 20 minutes of action. Brown added eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the first period while Carradine netted seven points. Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the first half and Neufeld registered seven assists.

The Lions shot 43.2% in the opening frame, including 25% from beyond the arc. The Gators owned a field-goal percentage of 38.7 at the break to go with 33.3% shooting from long distance.

Eastern Nazarene stretched the margin to double-digits for the first time on the night with 6:53 left to play in regulation as Green knocked down another lay-up, 59-48.

The Lions owned the glass down the stretch to preserve the victory. Eastern Nazarene hauled in four offensive boards in the final two minutes which allowed the team to drain the clock.

The hosts finished the contest with a 34.6% field-goal percentage while hitting 3-of-15 attempts from downtown. Neufeld paced the Lions with a pair of treys in the win.

The visitors shot 30.0% from the floor in the game and 28.6% from behind the arc.

Eastern Nazarene sported a 60-43 advantage in rebounds while also forcing 20 turnovers.

The Lions will return to the court January 2 to take on UMass-Dartmouth in a non-conference bout at 6 pm.