by SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women’s basketball team endured a 68-55 loss at Western New England Saturday afternoon.
The Lions fall to 8-9 on the season and 2-8 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the setback. The Golden Bears improve to 12-5 overall and 8-2 in league play with the win.
Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Navajo/Hopi) poured in a game-high 22 points and added three steals. Michelle Detwiler (Elkhart, Ind.) notched eight rebounds and six points. Alyssa Cosio Murillo(Santa Barbara, Calif.), Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.), and Tia Torio (Manteca, Calif.) all finished with six points in the contest.
The visitors struggled in the first quarter, mustering just five points as the home side built a 13-5 lead after the first quarter.
Western New England widened the gap to 18 points with 4:12 left to play in the second period on a layup by Emily Farrell, 27-9.
The Golden Bears boasted a 31-15 lead at the halftime intermission.
After the hosts expanded their advantage to 22, Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit to 43-27 with 3:16 remaining in the third frame as Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) sank the second of two attempts from the charity stripe.
At the conclusion of three quarters of action, Western New England held a 49-32 lead.
The Lions clawed back to trim the margin to 60-52 as Cosio Murillo splashed a three-pointer with 2:02 to go in regulation.
The Golden Bears sealed the victory by converting 8-of-10 free throw attempts down the stretch.
Eastern Nazarene shot 40.4% from the floor and 27.8% from behind the arc on the day. Western New England finished with a field-goal percentage of 37.9% to go with 5-for-18 shooting from three-point range.
Up next, the Lions are slated to host Salve Regina January 24.
