Women’s Basketball Edged by Endicott, 59-49

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's basketball absorbed a 59-49 loss Saturday afternoon at home to Endicott. The Lions slip to 8-7 on the season and 4-5 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Gulls soar to 11-5 overall and 7-2 in league play with the outcome.

Presley Neufeld (Seattle, Wash.) netted a team-high 11 points in the game for the hosts while adding six assists. Mel Green (Annapolis, Md.) and Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.) each scored eight points in the loss. Green finished with eight rebounds while Saint-Pierre pulled down five. Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Shardae Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) tallied seven and six points, respectively.

After the Lions sank the opening bucket of the game, Endicott rattled off seven-straight points.

Eastern Nazarene narrowed the margin to one, 11-10, with 12:20 remaining in the first half as Neufeld heaved a long pass to Saint-Pierre unmarked in the paint.

The visitors reclaimed a five-point edge before the home side captured a two-point lead with 6:01 left to play on a trey by Neufeld, 21-19.

Trailing by one heading into the final minute of the first frame, Carradine nailed a three-pointer with 30 seconds left on the clock to give the Lions a 31-29 lead at the halftime break.

Saint-Pierre led the home side with six points while adding three rebounds. Neufeld recorded five first-half points and five assists.

Eastern Nazarene shot 44.8% in the opening frame, including 4-of-10 from three-point land. Endicott connected on 33.3% of its field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes of action and 45.5% of its chances from behind the arc.

The Gulls scored four points in the opening minute of the second half to grab a 32-31 advantage.

The Lions leveled the score at 40-40 with 12:43 remaining in regulation on a jump shot by Green.

Endicott answered with back-to-back baskets to claim a four-point lead with 11:05 left to play. The visitors stretched the margin to eight points as Samantha Crough's jumper with 3:33 on the clock pushed the score to 53-45.

The Gulls extended their lead to double-digits for the first time on the day as Kayleen Whall knocked down a free throw in the final minute of action.

Eastern Nazarene went 7-for-33 from the floor in the second period to finish the game with a field-goal percentage of 32.3% on the day. Endicott shot 40.0% in the second stanza and 36.1% in the game.

Up next, the Lions travel north for a non-conference matchup at the University of Maine-Presque Isle January 21.