Women’s Basketball Clipped by Wesleyan, 74-63

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team absorbed a 74-63 loss to Wesleyan Thursday evening at the Lahue Athletic Center.

The Lions fall to 8-7 on the season with the setback while the Cardinals improve to 8-9 overall with the win.

Sophia Torres (Fort Mohave, Ariz.) poured in a game-best 21 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Alondra Jimenez (Santa Barbara, Calif.) tallied 14 points and grabbed five boards. Sydni Oviatt (Fruit Heights, Utah) chipped in with nine rebounds, six points, and five assists.

After the home team grabbed a five-point lead, the guests stormed back to snag an 11-9 edge with a 7-0 run with 4:53 on the clock.

Wesleyan closed out the first quarter with 12 unanswered points to boast a 23-11 advantage through 10 minutes of play.

Eastern Nazarene strung together an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 27-21 with 4:58 left to play in the second frame.

The Lions narrowed the gap to 29-25 with 32 seconds remaining in the opening half on back-to-back baskets by Torres.

The Cardinal clung to a 31-25 lead at the midway point of the contest despite the home team holding a 14-8 edge in second-quarter scoring.

Eastern Nazarene shot 29.7% from the floor and connected on just 1-of-10 from three-point territory. Wesleyan sported a field-goal percentage of 43.8% at the break and shot 21.4% from behind the arc.

The visitors stretched the margin to 10 points on a layup by Madison Szabo with 7:33 left to play in the third, 37-27.

After outscoring the Lions 24-17 in the third period, the Cardinals carried a 55-42 lead into the final frame.

Eastern Nazarene pulled to within six, 57-51, with 6:27 remaining in regulation as Te'yalla Simpson (Fairfield, Texas) tossed in a fast-break layup.

Wesleyan responded with a 7-0 run to extend its advantage to 64-51 with 5:15 to go and would not relinquish its double-digit lead to earn its second-straight victory.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 35.6% to go with a 5-for-20 effort from long distance. The Cardinals shot 41.9% from the floor and 25% from three-point range on the night.

Maggie Lee paced the visitors with 17 points off the bench. Caleigh Ryan notched a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards to go with five assists. Maddie Clark netted 11 points and Tori DaCosta added 10 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene heads to Beantown to battle Emerson January 22.