Women’s Basketball Triumphs Over Mitchell in Midweek Matchup, 74-67

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team snapped a brief two-game skid with a hard-fought 74-67 win over Mitchell Wednesday evening at the Lahue Athletic Center.

The Lions improve to 5-2 on the season with the victory while the Mariners sink to 0-4 overall.

Courtney Barba (Pismo Beach, Calif.) scored a game-high 20 points and hauled in five rebounds. Delaney Walker (Nampa, Idaho) splashed three treys to finish with nine points off the bench. Janeth Cruz (Reseda, Calif.) notched eight points and grabbed seven boards while Alondra Jimenez (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Janelle Jiron (Granada Hills, Calif.) also netted eight points. Moira Phillips (Middlesex, N.J.) chipped in with five points and pulled down a game-best nine rebounds on the night.

The home team sported a 20-16 advantage through one quarter of play.

Eastern Nazarene clung to a narrow four-point edge at the break, 34-30, after both squads tallied 14 points in the second frame.

The Lions shot 45.2% from the floor and just 28.6% from three-point land in the opening two periods. The Mariners posted a field-goal percentage of 41.4% in the first half and connected on 1-of-8 from behind the arc.

Jiron paced the home side with six points in the first 20 minutes of action while Bailey Craig (Placerville, Calif.) netted five points and Cruz collected six rebounds.

With 6:07 remaining in the third frame, Eastern Nazarene's lead grew to 12 as Barba tossed in a layup to widen the gap to 48-36.

After outscoring the visitors 19-15 in the third, the Lions held a 53-45 lead heading into the final quarter.

Mitchell trimmed the margin to two, 67-65, on a fast-break lay-in by Sam McKenna with 2:45 left to play.

The hosts responded with a bucket and a free throw by Barba to push their advantage to 70-65 with 2:18 to go in regulation.

After the Mariners chalked up a pair of free throws, Barba drilled a clutch three-pointer from the right corner to lift Eastern Nazarene's lead to 73-67 with 17 seconds on the clock to lock up the victory.

The Lions finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 46% to go with a 6-for-16 showing from behind the three-point line. Mitchell shot 45.8% from the floor and just 17.6% from long range on the night.

Chelsea Marcano paced the guests with 14 points off the bench while Le'Sandra Turner and Alexia Watson each poured in 12 points.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene welcomes Becker to the Lahue Athletic Center March 19.