Women’s Basketball Scores 71-59 Win at Salve Regina

NEWPORT, R.I.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team collected a 71-59 victory at Salve Regina Saturday afternoon.

The Lions improve to 6-2 on the year with the win while the Seahawks slide to 1-5 overall.

Sydni Oviatt (Fruit Heights, Utah) posted a game-best 18 points to go with five rebounds and four blocks. Sophia Torres (Fort Mohave, Ariz.) notched 16 points and nine rebounds. Janelle Jiron (Granada Hills, Calif.) finished with 12 points and nine boards while Alondra Jimenez (Santa Barbara, Calif.) added 11 points.

The visitors chalked up seven-straight points in the opening minute of the game to establish a 7-0 lead.

The home team pulled even at 11-11 with 3:41 remaining in the first frame on a layup by Amanda Folan.

Eastern Nazarene clung to a narrow one-point edge at the start of the second period, 16-15.

Salve Regina captured its first lead of the day with a bucket by Morgan Shuey with 8:53 left to play in the second.

The Lions seized a 32-30 advantage just before the halftime break as Oviatt knocked down a jumper with 11 seconds to go in the second quarter.

Eastern Nazarene shot 37.1% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc in the first half. Salve Regina boasted a field-goal percentage of 36.4% through two quarters while connecting on 3-of-7 from deep.

The guests stretched the margin to 11 on three-pointers by Michala O'Donoghue (San Bruno, Calif.) and Oviatt with 2:17 remaining in the third, 48-37.

The Lions touted a nine-point lead, 53-44, heading into the final frame.

Eastern Nazarene outscored Salve Regina 18-15 in the fourth quarter to return to the win-column.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 39.2% to go with a 7-for-20 performance from three-point range. The Seahawks shot 35.3% from the floor and 27.8% from long distance on the afternoon.

Megan Henaghan paced the hosts with 15 points and Folan registered 13 points while Hannah Autenrieth and Shuey each tallied 12 points.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene travels to Middlebury December 1.