Women’s Basketball Suffers 67-59 Setback at Nichols

DUDLEY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball team endured a 67-59 loss at Nichols College Thursday evening.

The Lions slide to 5-15 overall and 1-12 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the loss. The Bison improve to 10-10 on the season and 5-8 in league action.

Senior Abbie Tonello (Bourne, Mass.) led the visitors with 16 points and eight rebounds in the game. Ruby Leon (Fairfield, Calif.) chipped in with eight points, six boards and five assists. Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) added eight points, six rebounds and four helpers in the loss. Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.) finished with seven points while Nicole Greer (Odenton, Md.), Krystal Holl (Hagerstown, Md.) and Katy Teare (Frazier Park, Calif.) all registered six points.

Eastern Nazarene chalked up the first five points of the game, 2:12 after tip-off. A trey by Grays extended the Lions' lead to 13-2 with 13:56 remaining in the half.

Nichols battled back to tie the contest at 24-24 with 2:12 left to play, netting five straight points at the charity stripe.

The Bison claimed their first lead of the game with 1:27 on the clock as Kasey Pelletier banked in a lay-up.

The visitors leveled the score at 26-26 with 1:04 remaining as Lauren Hevy (North Brookfield, Mass.) converted a pair of free throws.

Amber Litwinko knocked down the first of two free throws to give the hosts a 27-26 edge at the half.

The Lions were led by Tonello with six points and four rebounds in the first half. Saint-Pierre and Grays each netted five points in the first period.

Eastern Nazarene shot 30.8% from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action, including 40% from downtown. Nichols was held to 28% shooting in the first frame, including just 1-of-6 from three-point range.

The Lions kicked off the second stanza on an 8-2 run to capture a 34-29 advantage with 16:28 left to play.

Nichols responded with seven consecutive points to seize a 38-36 lead with 14:30 on the clock.

The two teams traded baskets as the Bison clung to a 48-47 edge midway through the second period.

The visitors knotted the score at 50-50 on a free throw by Tonello with 7:42 remaining.

Eastern Nazarene grabbed a 56-54 lead with less than five minutes to go in the contest as Tonello sank a lay-in.

The Bison reclaimed the lead with 3:05 left to play on a lay-up by Litwinko, 58-57.

Nichols outscored the Lions 13-1 in the final 4:25 of the game and scored the final 11 points, including seven straight from the free throw stripe.

Eastern Nazarene finished with a field-goal percentage of 32.3% to go with 38.5% shooting from behind the arc. Nichols connected on 40.7% of its shot attempts on the night, including 30% from long distance.

Up next, the Lions return home to face Wentworth Saturday, February 8 in a pivotal conference matchup.