Women’s Basketball Edged by Wentworth Saturday, 53-49

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball team suffered a narrow 53-49 loss to Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center. The Lions drop to 9-9 overall and 4-7 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The victory elevates the Leopards to 8-10 on the year and 3-8 in league action while also halting a seven-game skid.

Senior Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed six boards off the bench. Senior Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) notched 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Rookie Katelyn Memory (Kiowa, Colo.) matched her career-high with eight points in the game as she drained a pair of three-pointers.

Wentworth was led by Kendra Kerr with a double-double as she registered 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Biggar added nine points and five boards off the bench and Rachael Camara scored eight points.

Eastern Nazarene claimed six-point advantage just past the midway point of the first period, 12-6, after a 6-0 run.

The Leopards cut the deficit to two with 3:16 left to play, 16-14, as Camara hit a trey.

The Lions increased their lead to six just before the halftime buzzer, 25-19. Memory stole the ball and dished it ahead to Carradine racing down the court for a fast-break lay-up with three seconds left in the half.

Brown led all scorers with eight points in the first half on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor. Carradine chipped in with six points while Memory added five. Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) paced the Lions with seven first-half rebounds.

Wentworth erased the six-point margin 4:40 into the second half as Kerr knocked down a jumper to tie the score at 25-25.

Following a pair of free throws by Camara to level the game at 39-39, Kerr deposited three points on a lay-up and foul shot to give the visitors their first lead of the second half, 42-39.

The Leopards stretched the gap to six with less than minute remaining in the contest on a free throw by Ashley Stowe, 49-43.

The Lions tallied four unanswered points to claw to within two, 49-47, with 15 seconds to go.

Wentworth converted 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 13 seconds to restore its six-point lead.

Carradine beat the final horn with a mid-range jumper to cut the score to 53-49.

Eastern Nazarene shot 33.3% from the field and 14.3% from three-point range on the day. The Leopards sported a field-goal percentage of 35.1% in the game, including 12.5% from beyond the arc.

The Lions will look to snap a two-game skid as they host Nichols January 29.