Women’s Basketball Outlasts Nichols, 76-66, Tuesday Night

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team claimed a 76-66 victory over Nichols College Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions improve to 6-9 on the season and 5-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Bison slide to 4-11 overall and 1-8 in league play with the loss.

Jasmine Mata (Santa Barbara, Calif.) netted a game-best 22 points while dishing out three assists. Mhiah Vickers (Westlake Village, Calif.) finished with 19 points to go with five boards and four assists. Jordan Grays (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Courtney Houston (Santa Barbara, Calif.) each posted 13 points and five rebounds each.

Nichols utilized a 6-0 run to grab a 15-8 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

Eastern Nazarene clawed back to level the game at 16-16 with 10:24 left to play as Houston converted a pair of free throws.

The Lions established a seven-point edge with 8:32 on the clock on a pair of free throws by Vickers, 23-16.

The home team widened the gap to 39-28 with 16 seconds remaining on a fast-break layup by Salazar.

Eastern Nazarene boasted a 39-30 lead at halftime after Nichols' Amber Litwinko tossed in a putback layup in the final seconds.

Vickers poured in a team-high 13 points in the opening frame. Grays and Houston each chipped in with seven points while Mata netted six.

Eastern Nazarene shot 52.4% from the floor and drained 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range. Nichols connected on 40.6% of its field-goal attempts in the first half and sank both efforts from behind the perimeter.

The Bison snagged a 43-41 edge with 13:13 left to play on a layup by Litwinko.

After the guests knotted the score for the 11th time in the game, 60-60, the hosts strung together nine unanswered points to capture a 69-60 advantage with 1:31 left to play.

Eastern Nazarene tallied its final 11 points from the free throw line to secure its fourth win in five games.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 40.4% in the contest while sinking 63.6% from three-point range. The Bison shot 36.5% from the floor and 30.0% from behind the arc.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a weekend clash at Endicott January 24.