Women’s Basketball Pulls Away from Salem State, Prevails 76-58

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team secured its fifth-consecutive victory Wednesday night, defeating Salem State 76-58 at the Lahue Athletic Center in the first meeting between the two teams since 1987.

The Lions remain unbeaten on the season and improve to 5-0 with the win while the Vikings slide to 0-4 overall.

Alondra Jimenez (Santa Barbara, Calif.) netted a team-high 14 points while adding eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals off the bench. Sydni Oviatt (Fruit Heights, Utah) posted a double-double with 12 points and 15 boards on the night. Te'yalla Simpson (Fairfield, Texas) contributed 12 points and five rebounds.

The two teams battled to a 21-21 stalemate through 10 minutes of action.

The visitors used a 6-0 burst to seize a 31-26 edge with 5:18 left to play in the second quarter.

Eastern Nazarene strung together an 8-0 run to claim a 34-31 lead with 1:53 remaining in the period.

The home side clung to a narrow 34-33 advantage at the halftime intermission.

The Lions pushed their lead to 38-33 on buckets by Shade Richardson (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) and Sophia Torres (Fort Mohave, Ariz.) to open the third quarter.

After Salem State knotted the contest at 38-38, Eastern Nazarene constructed a 48-42 lead with 1:21 to go in the frame as Tyra Davis (Houston, Texas) banked in a layup.

The hosts sported a 48-46 edge heading into the final period.

Eastern Nazarene stretched the gap to 58-48 with 6:05 left to play in regulation on a layup by Richardson.

The Lions widened the margin to 18 points as Delaney Walker (Nampa, Idaho) splashed her second trey of the game with 1:12 on the clock, 73-55.

The home team outscored the Vikings 28-12 in the fourth quarter to lock up its first win over Salem State since the 1980-81 campaign.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 39% while connecting on 6-of-26 from beyond the arc. The Vikings shot 34.3% from the floor and just 17.6% from three-point range.

Irianis Delgado notched a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the guests. Nicole Freddo registered 13 points while Gabby Torres chipped in with 10 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hosts Transylvania November 19 in the first-ever matchup.